Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference with the media at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on February 7, 2025. Duterte addressed the impeachment case filed against her by Congress, and also assured the public that her office would cooperate with the legal process while continuing to prioritize government programs and services. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

20250207-sara duterte-impeachment-presscon

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F752559114195757%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>MANILA (UPDATED) — House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said Thursday the Office of the House Secretary General has yet to refer to his office any impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition filed impeachment complaints against Duterte on Monday, restarting a process sidelined by the country&#x27;s Supreme Court last year.Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally President Ferdinand Marcos, charges she has denied.Asked whether the House Speaker’s office has received any of these complaints, Dy replied, “Wala”.For Tinio, the Secretary General should “immediately” refer the complaints to the Office of the House Speaker as soon as verified, pursuant to the instructions in the House Rules. But he also acknowledged that the Supreme Court, in its initial ruling on Duterte’s impeachment case, had said that a new impeachment proceeding against the Vice President may only start no earlier than February 6th. Makabayan solons and some House leaders, however, believe that the final ruling on the case effectively moves the expiry of the one-year ban to an earlier date.“Supposedly walang discretion, kundi ministerial, ang tungkulin ng SecGen na kapag may lumanding na impeachment complaint sa kanyang opisina, immediately dapat i-refer sa Speaker. Tapos ‘yung Speaker ang binibigyan ng discretion— 10 session days para ipaloob sa calendar of official business ng House ‘yung impeachment complaints. So dapat talaga, natanggap na ng Office of the Speaker. ‘Yung Speaker ang makapagde-decide kung kailan niya ipapa-include sa Order of Business. Pero mukhang ngayon ay hindi pa,” Tinio said.“Anyway, I think mayroong pag-iisip sa House na gagawin ang inclusion sa order of business after February 6. Given na paiba-iba talaga ‘yung ruling ng Supreme Court. At any time… pwedeng may tumakbo sa Supreme Court para kwestyunin ang anumang hakbang na gagawin ng Kongreso at pwede mabago ‘yung rules. Kaya nga at some point, tama rin na kailangan tumindig ang House bilang co-equal branch at higit na far as impeachment is concerned, yung Rules dito, ang may say ay ang House,” he added.Elago expects the recently filed impeachment complaints against the Vice President, to be referred to the Speaker’s office no earlier than February 6th.“We expect that after February 6, magkakaroon ng referral, ng inclusion sa Order of Business. at magkakaroon ng referral sa Justice Committee… We think that it would be included in the Order of Business by Monday and then referred to the Committee on Justice,” she said.<div> </div><div>STILL CONFIDENT</div> The Vice President was successfully impeached by the lower chamber last year on charges similar to those cited in the complaints filed last Monday. But trial was sidelined by a Supreme Court decision nullifying the articles of impeachment filed by the House to the Senate for violating the one-year ban.Tinio expressed optimism that the fresh impeachment compaint they endorsed against Duterte will get enough support from the House Committee on Justice and the House plenary to reach trial at the Senate.“Dito, medyo confident tayo na… lulusot or papasa sa Committee on Justice. Makakakuha ng sapat na bilang ng suporta ang impeachment laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte…. Bakit natin nasabi ‘yun? Dahil hindi naman malaki ang naging pagbabago ng sitwasyon sa majority, kumpara sa previous Congress. Nananatili pa rin na supporters ng Malacanang at ng Pangulo ang mayorya and therefore, susuportahan pa rin ang impeachment… Realidad naman na nariyan pa rin at lumalala pa nga ‘yung hidwaan sa pagitan ng Marcos at Duterte. Kaya we can expect na papasa ito sa House and at some point itatransmit ang articles of impeachment sa Senate,”  he explained.“May matibay na batayan ang impeachment laban sa Vice President,” Tinio added.He said the House should show “equal treatment” of the impeachment complaints against the country’s two highest officials. Otherwise, the credibility of the impeachment proceedings may be questioned, according to Tinio.“Kung ang tingin ng publiko, masyadong partisan ‘yung handling, ay may epekto sa kredibilidad ng impeachment as a whole, at saka ng specific impeachment proceeding laban sa Vice President,” he said.Tinio believes the possible leadership change at the Senate may affect the chances of the impeachment complaint against the Vice President, should it reach trial.“Realidad naman, political body ang Senado at factor talaga ‘yung politika. So, syempre, may epekto ang anumang leadership change. Ngayon, very clearly, ang Sotto Senate Presidency ay sumusuporta sa administrasyon... As to Sen. Legarda, depende kung ano ang komposisyon, anong magiging komposisyon ng susuporta sa kanya. So, kung may kompromiso with the Duterte bloc as well, hindi natin alam. So, in general, of course, may epekto ang anumang leadership change, especially kung mapalitan ‘yung kasalukuyang Senate President na clearly sumusuporta sa administrasyon… Kahit pa sabihin impartial ang judges and so on, pero huwag na tayong maglokohan. Factor talaga ‘yung pulitika dito,” Tinio said.He, meanwhile, expressed doubts whether the Vice President’s camp will explain the use of aliases in the disbursement of confidential funds. “Narinig na natin ‘yan. “We&#x27;re ready to explain”, pero… tatakbo na naman sa Supreme Court. Hindi kailangan mag-hintay ng impeachment proceeding para mag-explain. Matagal na pong hinihingan ng paliwanag at marinig ang katotohanan at hinggil sa buong isyu ng confidential funds mula sa Vice President ngunit palagi siyang nagtatago, palagi siyang nag-aasal pusit at hindi nagbibigay ng anumang paliwanag. Hindi natin alam ang katotohanan, hindi natin naririnig sa kanya ito. So, don&#x27;t wait for the impeachment proceedings, ipaliwanag mo na ngayon,” Tinio said.

House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said Thursday the Office of the House Secretary General has yet to refer to his office any impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.

House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said Thursday the Office of the House Secretary General has yet to refer to his office any impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Sara Duterte impeachment complaints yet to be referred to Speaker’s office

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Sara Duterte impeachment complaints yet to be referred to Speaker’s office

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 05, 2026 12:06 PM PHT

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Updated Feb 05, 2026 05:05 PM PHT

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