VP Duterte’s refusal to answer could speed up impeachment proceedings

IMPEACHMENT proceedings against Vice‑President (VP) Sara Duterte‑Carpio may move faster if she chooses not to answer the charges, a congressman said over the weekend, as the deadline for her response nears.

Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon said the House of Representatives Justice Committee may rule on the sufficiency of the ouster complaints’ grounds “as early as the final weeks of this month” should Ms. Duterte refuse to respond to the accusations.

“In the event that she does not respond by Monday, the process will be shortened,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

The Justice committee in early March found two out of four complaints against Ms. Duterte were sufficient in substance, moving them to the next step of the impeachment process that will determine whether the charges should be elevated to the Senate for trial.

The Vice-President faces a range of accusations, including claims she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in secret funds under the Office of the Vice-President and the Education department during her tenure as its secretary.

Filings made also include accusations she amassed wealth disproportionate to her income, efforts to destabilize the government and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, charges which Ms. Duterte has denied.

WAIT AND SEE
Ms. Duterte on Saturday said the House should just wait for her to file her response on Monday.

“Monday is coming up soon, right? Let’s wait and see whether I’ll file or not. Let the people at the House of Representatives just wait,” she told reporters in Filipino on March 14, a video from her office showed.

She also questioned the Justice committee’s plans to bar two of her legal counsels to join the impeachment proceedings.

This comes as the House panel said last week it will discuss the possible rejection of the entry of former Education spokesman Michael T. Poa and former Office of the Vice-President spokesman Reynold S. Munsayac as Ms. Duterte’s legal counsels.

“This is the first time I’ve heard a respondent is not allowed to choose her lawyers.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Duterte said she approached an individual to be her running mate in the 2028 national polls following her announcement to vie for the country’s top post.

The unnamed person has not made a decision yet, she said.

“I recruited someone last year, but this person hasn’t decided yet, so let’s just wait for the decision; let’s not bother this person anymore,” she said. “Let’s not name this person because this person might be attacked.”

For her senatorial slate, she said four people had approached her already but added she is “allergic” to politicians.

Ms. Duterte is at odds with Mr. Marcos’ administration despite being running mates in the 2022 national elections, which delivered a landslide victory for two of the country’s most prominent political families.

She stepped down as Mr. Marcos’ Education chief in 2024 following allegations of the misuse of confidential funds in the country’s top-funded department.

This followed the arrest of her father and former President Rodrigo R. Duterte in March last year for alleged crimes against humanity, further widening the rift between the two families. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Chloe Mari A. Hufana