Photo courtesy of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan President Renato Reyes Jr.
A coalition of progressive organizations filed a fresh impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives on Monday, submitting the petition to the Office of the Secretary General.
In the verified complaint, the Makabayan bloc cited three alleged instances of betrayal of public trust, centered on the Vice President’s handling of confidential funds amounting to Php 612.5 million from December 2022 to the third quarter of 2023.
The groups alleged that the funds were spent without proper transparency, accusing Duterte’s office of relying on questionable accomplishment reports and liquidation documents that were later presented to the Commission on Audit (COA) to justify the expenses.
Lawmakers who earlier reviewed the issue flagged acknowledgment receipts tied to the confidential outlays, including documents bearing names that did not appear in government databases, raising doubts about the legitimacy of the supposed recipients.
Additional concerns were raised after receipts from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) listed the same individuals as recipients on identical dates, despite apparent differences in signatures and handwriting.
The complaint also accused Duterte of neglecting her official duties by repeatedly skipping House hearings on her office’s budget, which the complainants said weakened congressional oversight.
The filing followed the collapse of a previous impeachment effort after the Supreme Court (SC) voided earlier proceedings, with the groups urging lawmakers to revive accountability measures through constitutionally allowed means.