Makabayan solon, groups file impeachment case vs Sara Duterte amid betrayal of public trust

“Respondent Duterte betraying public trust by her gross abuse of discretionary power of over Php 612 million in confidential funds from December of 2022 until the 3rd quarter of 2023,” said former BAYAN MUNA partylist representative Atty. Neri Colmenares.

Seventy four (75) complainants from various sectors led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), 22 or 1/3 of whom came from the youth sector, signed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte on the grounds of gross corruption and misuse of public funds.

Various groups slammed the questionable and anomalous spending of Duterte, particularly the P612.5 million use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), just as when the Office of the Vice President reqested P2.037 billion budget for 2025 during committee deliberations.

Several reports also highlighted Duterte’s travel expenses in 2023 which surged up to P42.58 million during her first full year in the position. Commission on Audit (COA) noted that this amount is more than double the OVP’s travel expenses the previous year.

“Constituting betrayal of public trust is respondent Duterte betrayed pubic trust by her gross disregard of transparency and accountability making a mockery of the audit process,” Atty. Colmenares added.

Colmenares pointed to several instances of Duterte’s alleged misconduct, including heightened tensions during the probe as well as her order to ‘kill’ President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., his wife, and Speaker Martin Romualdez in the event of her assassination.

Duterte further violated and abused her power upon saying that COA is supporting her use of CIF that is deemed anomalous and questionable by the complainants, pointing out the fabricated receipts and accomplishment reports. Colmenares further said that “it is not in accordance with laws and regulation causing great injury to the government and the taxpayers.”

On November 25, Philippine Statistics Office reported that there is no record of Mary Grace Piattos in their database. The name “Mary Grace Piattos” is one of the acknowledgment receipts (AR) submitted by the OVP to COA to justify the usage of CIF in 2022.

“Respondent Duterte betrayed public trust by her dereliction of official duty with her willful refusal to recognize congressional oversight during budget deliberations and its authority to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation,” Colmenares furthered.

Duterte alongside her OVP staff snubbed the house inquiry hearings led by House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability regarding the CIF misuse allegations since September.

Since the September house inquiries regarding Duterte’s CIF, the vice president alongside her OVP staff have repeatedly snubbed several hearings. If they were present, Duterte only resorted to mocking the audit processes. Colmenares said that these actions constitute a clear violation and reflect dereliction of official duty.

BAYAN labeled these actions as “theatrics” from the vice president, asserting that it is more than enough for grounds of impeachment. 

Outside the House of Representatives, various groups held a protest action to support the filing of impeachment complaint, echoing calls such as “Sara, ipasok sa rehas” and “Impeach Sara now”.

The groups further demanded for immediate action from Congress following the filing of the impeachment complaint.