Manila, Philippines — A Philippine congressional committee ruled Wednesday that there was “probable cause” to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte after looking into criminal charges against her, including undisclosed assets, misappropriation of state funds and racketeering. assassination of the president.
The Philippines, a bastion of democracy in Asia, has been plagued by allegations of governance anomalies for decades political unrestwhich includes a ferocity political conflict Between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The unanimous decision by the 53-member Justice Committee of the House of Representatives is the latest blow to the vice president, who has denied any wrongdoing. He has declined to respond in detail to the specific allegations.
The impeachment complaints focused on Duterte’s alleged illegal use and misuse of huge amounts of money from the office of the Vice President and from his time as Secretary of Education under Marcos.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the National Bureau of Investigation said Duterte’s comments during an online news conference about assassinating Marcos, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives in 2024 were a threat to national security.
The Justice Committee’s decision elevates the two impeachment bids against Duterte to deliberations and voting by the entire lower house, which has more than 300 lawmakers.
If impeached by the full House, which is dominated by Marcos’ allies, he would face trial before the Senate.
Opponents have become particularly concerned about Duterte’s alleged crimes after he announced his intention to seek Presidency in 2028.
Representative Gervil Luistro, head of the Justice Committee, criticized the vice president for failing to appear at six televised hearings in recent months and asking the Supreme Court to halt the impeachment inquiry over multiple allegations, including massive bank transactions over the years, which he has declared not required by law.
“If there’s nothing to hide, there’s no reason to conceal, there’s no reason to obstruct,” Luistro said at the beginning of Wednesday’s committee hearing. “The only people who are afraid of these transactions being exposed are those who have dirty secrets.”
Duterte’s husband Manasses Carpio filed a criminal complaint on Monday against Luistro and other lawmakers and officials after government records of the couple’s bank transactions were made public in a recent House hearing. He said that this is a violation of the country’s bank secrecy law.
Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo DuterteWho has been detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands alleged crimes against humanity. The charges stem from a deadly anti-drug crackdown he conducted while in office.
Most of the allegations against the vice president were included in the impeachment complaint, which was quashed on technical grounds last year.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach him last year and sent the case to the Senate for trial. The Supreme Court later ruled that the lower house violated a constitutional rule that it could only act on one impeachment case a year.
The Vice President remains popular based on independent surveys.
Duterte and the president were allies in a storming coalition in the 2022 elections, but have since turned sour.
