Sara impeachment formally initiated at House

February 24, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has formally initiated the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, after the four verified complaints against her were forwarded yesterday to the committee on justice for proper deliberation.

With this, the one-year bar rule on succeeding impeachment raps has been triggered.

At the justice committee level, a finding of sufficiency in form and substance might mean panel deliberations on the merits, yet lawmakers may also choose to transmit the complaints to the plenary where a vote of at least 107 will result in a Senate trial.

The four separate impeachment complaints were filed by the Makabayan bloc, civil society group Tindig Pilipinas, church and religious groups led by lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan and lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera.

Under the Constitution, the Vice President may be removed from office for culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust.

Cabrera stated in his 58-page complaint that Duterte failed to fully disclose certain assets in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and may have accumulated unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income.

With four impeachment complaints now pending, the House must determine whether the allegations – particularly those involving SALN disclosures and unexplained wealth – meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment under Article 11 of the 1987 Constitution.

Coward?

As the impeachment proceedings unfold, House Deputy Speaker and La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V challenged Duterte to answer the allegations against her this time around, especially since she already declared her presidential bid.

“If you are running (for president), don’t run away (from the issues), face them,” he said, stressing that public officials, especially those seeking the highest post in the land, are held to a higher standard.

“She had all of the time, she had the platform, she had the position to defend herself but she chose to be quiet about it and just turned her back,” Ortega said.

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