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Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference, February 7, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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20250207-sara duterte-impeachment-presscon

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176516136250220220207-vp-duterte-presscon-impeachment-MT-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference, February 7, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday alleged a fresh impeachment complaint against her could be used as a “bargaining chip” for lawmakers just in time before the passage of the 2026 national budget. </p><p>Quoting some lawmakers, Duterte claimed that in February 2024, “signatures for my impeachment were being courted in exchange for budget allocations.”</p><p>“Their statements have unmasked the truth that the impeachment complaint against me was never really driven by principle but by price,” Duterte said in a statement. </p><p>She questioned the timing of some House members’ pronouncements of a fresh impeachment complaint, saying this revealed a pattern “that has become all too familiar.”</p><p>“This constitutional mechanism is being dangled once again as a bargaining chip right before the 2026 National Budget is passed. To those who continue to exploit the impeachment process, stop hiding behind the language of ‘good governance,’” she said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/27/senate-ends-debates-on-ovp-budget-no-questions-asked-1425">Senate ends debates on OVP budget, no questions asked</a></div><p>She said that while she was ready to answer allegations against her, “I cannot remain silent while the impeachment process is being twisted into a budget-driven racket.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/6/sara-duterte-says-no-findings-of-overpriced-cctvs-wrongdoing-in-coa-audit-1605">Sara Duterte says no findings of ‘overpriced’ CCTVs, ‘wrongdoing’ in COA audit</a></div><p>Duterte’s statement came after Bayan Chairperson Teddy Casiño said progressive and civil society groups were<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/1/sara-duterte-faces-fresh-impeachment-threat-in-february-1612"> preparing to file a fresh impeachment complaint</a> against her once the one-year ban expires in February. </p><p>Casiño said the alleged “betrayal of public trust” over supposed misuse of confidential funds would still be among the grounds for the impeachment complaint they plan to file.</p><p>The Supreme Court in July blocked Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial, saying it violated a constitutional provision against multiple impeachment proceedings within a single year. The High Court said a fresh impeachment attempt could be introduced, but not before February 6, 2026.</p><div><iframe width="1425" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fEPSB0dvBYo" title="House cuts OVP&#x27;s 2026 budget; De Lima calls Sara Duterte a &#x27;brat&#x27; | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1440" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wwqs3-uSLKg" title="FULL: P889-M budget ng OVP para sa 2026, aprubado agad sa Senado | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday alleged a fresh impeachment complaint against her could be used as a “bargaining chip” for lawmakers just in time before the passage of the 2026 national budget.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday alleged a fresh impeachment complaint against her could be used as a “bargaining chip” for lawmakers just in time before the passage of the 2026 national budget.

Sara Duterte claims impeachment threat a ‘bargaining chip’ in 2026 budget

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Sara Duterte claims impeachment threat a ‘bargaining chip’ in 2026 budget

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 08, 2025 10:40 AM PHT

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