Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATE) -- Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has claimed that his colleagues at the House of Representatives are being “coerced” and “threatened” to support the impeachment of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.He issued the statement after the House Committee on Justice found probable cause in the impeachment complaints against the Vice President, which accused her of misusing confidential funds, unexplained wealth, material non-disclosure in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, and threatening the President, the First Lady, and the former House Speaker.Rep. Duterte alleged that the administration is using the national budget as a “weapon” to threaten congressmen.He claimed that congressmen’s staff received a warning that if House members do not vote for the Vice President’s impeachment, their district’s funds in the General Appropriations Act will be cut. “Nagtatawag na daw ang mga staff ni Charise sa mga chief of staff ng mga congressman na bumoto para sa impeachment. Kung hindi, ay tatanggalin ang buong GAA (General Appropriations Act) ng kanilang distrito. Ibig sabihin, lahat kasama yung mga pondo para sa patubig, paaralan, tulay, kalsada at iba pang kailangan lalo sa mga probinsyang hirap na hirap. Bukod dito, pati daw pondo para sana sa mga social services, walang ibibigay,” he claime in a post on social media.“What we are seeing now under the bangag leadership is not politics as usual—this is outright coercion… The national budget is not a weapon. Hindi ito panakot. Hindi ito ginagamit para pilitin ang mga halal na kinatawan na sumunod sa gusto ng iilan,” he added.“If leadership is confident in its case, then let the evidence speak—not threats, not pressure, and certainly not the hostage-taking of public funds,” the Davao lawmaker said.House Deputy Speaker Albee Benitez believes the “Charise” mentioned in Rep. Duterte’s statement is House Majority Leader and Presidential Son Sandro Marcos, but he categorically denied Duterte’s claim.Benitez said Rep. Duterte is the brother of the Vice President, and his statement only seeks to cast “malice” on House members’ vote regarding the impeachment complaints against his sister.“I think it speaks for itself. Kapatid niya ‘yun e...I think it&#x27;s saying that he&#x27;s (Rep. Marcos) the son of the President, and the President is behind all of this, kaya idinamay niya si Majority Leader,” the House Deputy Speaker said.Benitez asserted he was neither coerced nor threatened to vote in favor of finding probable cause in the complaints, adding that the evidence presented in the impeachment hearings surpassed the threshold.He added, “Walang ganoon…Paano mag-allocate, e nasa GAA na. The only way na pwede palitan ‘yan is through Congress ulit, ‘di ba? So, paano nila sasabihin na dinagdagan o binawasan? E  sa totoo lang, that has already passed through legislative process at na-formalize na ‘yan into an Appropriation Act,” he explained.“Gusto nila palabasin na hindi kusa ang saloobin ng pagboto sa impeachment. (01:58) Naniniwala ako na ang impeachment is one way of ensuring na ang standards ng public officials pagdating sa public service ay talagang pinakamataas...Dapat magkaroon tayo ng highest standard ng public official. Walang bahid, walang tanong, walang duda...Kung hindi po natin i-question… ano po mangyayari sa atin? So tuloy-tuloy po ito, maging ‘yung pag-corrupt,” Benitez added.The House Deputy Speaker also denied claims that congressmen’s budget for maintenance and other operating expenses increased by as much as P300,000, and that members of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas are expected to receive an additional P200,000 each, amid the impeachment proceedings.“Ngayon ko lang narinig ‘yan. Sa akin, actually, wala. Wala akong natanggap. Wala akong narinig. Walang nagsabi sa akin ng ganyan,” Benitez said.“In fact, ang nirereklamo namin is ang bagal ng labas ng pera sa national government. Dahil hanggang ngayon, I heard, underspending pa tayo ng P200 billion… In light of the crisis, dapat po tayo gumagastos,” he added.“Isa sa pinaka-problema natin, hanggang ngayon, dito lang sa distrito namin sa Bacolod, out of 100% na projects na nasa GAA ng 2026, only 20% ang na-bid. Ang layo pa natin, halos half the year na tayo. So hindi ko maintidihan saan nanggagaling ‘yung mga salitang ganyan. Dahil wala ngang lumalabas. Walang budget!” Benitez noted.Another PFP member, Cagayan de Oro City 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan, echoed the denial.“Wala naman po akong nareceive na additional budget ever since I joined PFP. So I don&#x27;t think there&#x27;s any truth to that,” he said.Suan, who is a member of the House Committee on Justice, and committee Chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro also belied Rep. Duterte’s claims, adding that attempts to taint the impeachment proceedings are something they “anticipated”.“I deny that allegation. Wala po tayong nae-encounter na kausap concerning allocations related to this impeachment process. So I deny that...Anticipated ‘yan, na they will be commenting a lot of negative things against this impeachment process, especially that the Justice Committee was able to establish probable cause with respect to the two impeachment complaints against the Vice President,” Luistro said.“Wala namang na-receive na call ‘yung chief of staff ko. Tapos ako personally, wala akong na-receive na call regarding that… Wala naman akong nakausap na congressmen na may sinabi na kino-coerce sila or tinawagan sila regarding this… wala akong naririnig na ganoon, kahit chismis lang man or any rumors regarding that...I don&#x27;t think it will cast doubt on the independence of each congressman because it&#x27;s just an allegation and there&#x27;s no proof regarding that. And I personally have not received any calls or any of my staff,” Suan, for his part, said.“I think that&#x27;s normal. May mga intriga talaga na lalabas, especially quarters, who would like to taint the credibility of the Justice Committee, well, para sa akin, expected ko na yan. Pero personally, wala naman akong experience na ganun. Wala akong calls na natanggap, walang threats, walang additional budget na para sa ganoon. So, everything&#x27;s normal. Wala namang sinabi sa amin, walang standing order or whatever. Walang ganoon eh. And I think that every congressman, especially those in the Justice Committee, we are all independent. Pwede kaming bumoto in whatever way we deem fit. And that&#x27;s what I did during the hearings,” he stressed.<div>&#x27;BLACK PROPAGANDA&#x27;</div>Meanwhile, Akbayan party-list Representative Perci Cendaña called Rep. Duterte’s recent allegation on impeachment proceedings “black propaganda,” adding he expected this kind of information to emerge.  “Inaasahan na natin na mayroong ganyang lalabas na mga balita at black propaganda pagdating dito sa usapin ng impeachment. Pero sa dulo, tandaan natin constitutional mandate ng House of Representatives mag-initiate ng impeachment at eventually, iakyat ito sa Senado. So itong ganitong mga balita ay paninira at siguro isa rin ‘tong threat para gamitin later on doon sa boboto for the impeachment,” Cendaña told reporters on Thursday.Cendaña added, now is not the time for House lawmakers to be threatened by such statements, and they must stand firm.“Hindi ito panahon para matakot ‘yung members of the House. Kinakailangang manindigan sila,” Cendaña said.The lawmaker said he believes there would be an “overwhelming” number of lawmakers voting in favor of the articles of impeachment once these reach plenary, surpassing the one-third requirement.“After what happened last week, nung makita natin ‘yung bilyon-bilyong piso dumaan sa accounts ng mga Duterte at ‘yung pagsisinungaling nila sa kanilang SALN, tingin ko hindi lang one-third ‘yung numero na makikita natin. This would be overwhelming pagdating sa plenaryo,” Cendaña said.“Kasi walang choice. Kahit ‘yung mga natatakot na magkaroon ng political repercussions sa kanilang 2028, wala silang choice kundi makinig sa ebidensya at sumuporta dito sa ating articles of impeachment,” the congressman added.<div>HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE IS ‘ASAP TASK’</div>Cendaña stressed he disagrees with the Supreme Court’s definition of “forthwith” in relation to impeachment cases, which it recently clarified refers to “within a reasonable time, which may be longer or shorter, depending on the circumstances of each case.”The congressman said he believes constitutional framers were clear with the definition, adding that holding public officials accountable is a task that must be done as soon as possible.“Malinaw kasi from the constitutional framers kung ano ibig sabihin ng forthwith. At malinaw sa lahat– kahit sino nagbabasa ng diksyonaryo, ito ay immediately. And holding public officials accountable is an ASAP task. As soon as possible, kinakailangang gawin, kinakailangang mapanagot sa kanilang pag-abuso sa kapangyarihan. Kasi the more they stay in power, the greater damage they inflict on government and on the people,” Cendaña said.“Umaasa tayo that the Senate leadership, even with this Supreme Court decision, will act immediately pagsampa sa kanila ng articles of impeachment. Umaasa tayo that the Senate leadership, sa pangako ni Senate President Tito Sotto, na kanila agad bibigyan ng day in court ‘yung maraming Pilipino na matagal nang nananawagan ng pananagutan kay VP Sara Duterte para singilin sa pang-aabuso niya sa kapangyarihan,” Cendaña added.

Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has claimed that his colleagues at the House of Representatives are being “coerced” and “threatened” to support the impeachment of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.

Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has claimed that his colleagues at the House of Representatives are being “coerced” and “threatened” to support the impeachment of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.

Paolo Duterte claims congressmen 'coerced' to support sister's impeachment

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Paolo Duterte claims congressmen 'coerced' to support sister's impeachment

Vivienne Gulla,

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 30, 2026 05:35 PM PHT

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Updated April 30, 2026 07:22 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

Sara Duterte

Paolo Duterte

impeachment

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