Philippine vice president says prepared to face impeachment complaints

ANKARA

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte stated Wednesday that she is prepared to face impeachment proceedings amid a widening rift within the ruling coalition.

Two impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in the House of Representatives last week.

“It is better that there are impeachment cases so that we can properly answer whatever their accusations are because the process is laid out clearly in our laws regarding impeachment,” Duterte said in a TV interview, according to the Manila Times.

Under local law, any lawmaker or citizen can file a complaint in parliament, but citizen-filed complaints must be endorsed by a member of parliament.

The complaints, filed on Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, allege misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President. The Constitution requires a vote by one-third of all House members for the impeachment process to move to trial.

Duterte has faced mounting legal challenges since last month after allegedly threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and his cousin, who is the House speaker, with assassination if she were killed.

The vice president was summoned to appear before the National Bureau of Investigation regarding the allegations on Wednesday but skipped the appearance for the second time.

Meanwhile, a joint committee of parliament has declined to reinstate the 1.3 billion Philippine pesos ($22.2 million) cut from the Office of the Vice President's funding request for 2025 by the House of Representatives.

Marcos and Duterte, who were running mates in the 2022 elections, secured six-year terms. However, their alliance has unraveled in recent months, leading Duterte to resign as education secretary from Marcos' Cabinet in June.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid