Activist groups have filed two new impeachment complaints before the House of Representatives against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing her of large-scale corruption and serious abuses of power. Duterte previously blamed President Marcos for allowing what she described as the unlawful arrest of her father by the ICC. Responding to the new impeachment efforts, Duterte’s lawyer, Michael Poa, said the vice president is prepared to face the accusations through constitutional processes and expressed confidence that the allegations lack both factual and legal basis. Many of the claims mirror those raised in the impeachment complaint filed more than a year ago. The move comes more than a year after an earlier impeachment attempt was voided by the Supreme Court on procedural grounds. The complaints revive allegations that Duterte illegally used and mismanaged ₱612.5 million in confidential funds during her tenure as vice president and earlier as education secretary under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. Petitioners claim the funds were spent without proper accountability and oversight, constituting a betrayal of public trust. Another charge involves alleged unexplained wealth, including deposits in personal bank accounts. An anti-graft prosecutor confirmed that authorities are seeking access to these accounts as part of a separate criminal probe. One of the impeachment filings also cited Duterte’s controversial statement during an online briefing in November 2024, where she allegedly threatened that President Marcos, his wife, and the House Speaker would be killed if harm came to her amid escalating political tensions. Duterte, a former mayor and lawyer, is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested last year and detained in the Netherlands by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s war on drugs. Her camp has accused political rivals of weaponizing legal cases to derail her perceived presidential ambitions in 2028. While Marcos has denied the accusations, Duterte has publicly called for his investigation and imprisonment over disputed flood control allocations. That case was swiftly approved by the House—then dominated by Marcos allies—but was later nullified by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Constitution allows only one impeachment proceeding against an official within a single year. The political standoff has further intensified as President Marcos himself faces two impeachment complaints in the House.
