VP Sara faces third impeachment complaint

National

A THIRD impeachment complaint has been filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The impeachment is still in connection with the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Vice President in 2022 which amounted to P125 million and the P112.5 million of the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s watch in 2023.

This time, the complaint is filed by some Catholic priests, religious groups and lawyers including the leaders of non-government organizations Stop Corruption Philippines, Diocese of Novaliches, Order of the Carmelites and Congregation of Mission, Stand up for God Rosary Group and the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao.

The complaint was endorsed by Camarines Sur 3rd District Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr., and AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Lex Anthony Colada. It was filed before the Office of House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

According to the complainants’ legal counsel, lawyer Armando Ligutan, their complaint is based on how the office of the VP spent the entrusted fund to her office worth million pesos in just 11 days without proper documentation.

“We are citing culpable violation of the constitution. We are also invoking betrayal of public trust, plunder, malversation, technical malversation and bribery,” Ligutan said, citing the grounds for their impeachment complaint are based on the findings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

Ligutan said, unlike the two first impeachment complaints that were filed against Duterte, theirs was driven by their “moral obligation” to act.

“…these lawyers believe that with what transpired and with what the public saw during the committee hearings, it’s not longer just legal and constitutional obligation of the members of the House of Representatives to impeach and for the Senate to remove from office the sitting vice president of the Republic of the Philippines, it has now become their moral obligation to do so” Ligutan emphasized.

Fr. Joselito Sarabia, one of the complainant who was present during the filing believes that Duterte “committed illegal and something immoral against the Filipino people”

“For us, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness,” Sarabia said.

Duterte in her previous interviews maintained her denial of the allegations hurled against her, saying this is just part of the attempt to discredit her.(LAO)