A Philippine congressional committee has voted to advance impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing her of graft and making a death threat.
MANILA: A Philippine congressional committee has overwhelmingly agreed to advance impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, setting the stage for a potential Senate trial that could decide her political future.
The House of Representatives justice committee ruled the complaints “sufficient in substance” by a vote of 54-1 on Wednesday, moving the case forward on allegations of graft and corruption while in office and of making a death threat against former ally President Ferdinand Marcos.
The vice president, who announced a 2028 presidential bid in February, now has 10 days to respond before the start of a hearing to determine probable cause, which is necessary to move the complaints to a full House vote.
“Our vote today is not a verdict of guilt nor an act of condemnation,” Representative Ferdinand Hernandez said minutes before the vote, adding it was simply a decision on whether the constitutional process should move forward.
The alleged death threat against Marcos stems from a late-night press briefing in which Duterte claimed to have hired an assassin to kill the president and members of his family should he have her cut down first.
While she later said the comments were misinterpreted, lawmaker Gerville Luistro said on Wednesday that the alleged threats could destabilise institutions, stating “they carry weight” and “they create fear”.
The vice president’s legal team said they would not comment on specific allegations, with lawyer Michael Poa stating they would refrain from discussing the substance of the case in the media and instead address matters through proper constitutional processes.
Analysts have warned that Duterte’s presidential announcement will weigh heavily on lawmakers forced to gauge the repercussions of a vote against someone who may yet hold the country’s highest office.
Duterte and Marcos have been engaged in a high-stakes political brawl that erupted within weeks of their 2022 election win, when the vice president was denied her favoured cabinet portfolios and instead named education secretary.
Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment by the House triggers a Senate trial, where a guilty verdict would ban Duterte from elected office for life.
The justice committee last month tossed out a pair of impeachment complaints against President Marcos, ruling that allegations of corruption over a scandal involving bogus flood control projects lacked substance.
The Sun Malaysia
