Vice President Sara Duterte may face impeachment over the alleged mismanagement of funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education which she previously headed, House committee on good government and public accountability chairman Manila Rep. Joel Chua said.
Chua said the House panel probe uncovered possible grounds for Duterte’s impeachment, particularly graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust.
The initial findings – such as the P125 million in confidential funds the OVP spent within just 11 days in December 2022, the P16 million budget for safe houses, and the P15 million for a youth summit – were significant enough to raise concerns.
“I was shocked to know that P125 million was spent in 11 days. There was a notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit,” he said.
As for the budget for the safe houses and the youth summit, Chua said: “In these two instances, unless of course they can prove that their use is justified, but as we see it, they really have liability. Those two instances we can say are grounds for impeachment because obviously there was betrayal of public trust and elements of graft.”
“After the impeachment, once proven or impeached, that’s the time for cases to be filed against the Vice President,” the lawmaker added.
Chua said to be able to file plunder charges, the amount involved must be at least P50 million, which is why the House panel is still assessing which cases will be included.
In August, COA issued a notice of disallowance for P73.28 million of the P125 million in confidential funds spent by the OVP in 2022, citing improper use and regulatory violations.
COA directed Duterte and other accountable OVP officials to settle the disallowed amount.
Lawmakers were likewise taken aback by the OVP’s use of P16 million in confidential funds to rent 34 safe houses for just 11 days also in late 2022, with one property costing nearly P91,000 per day.
Chua said the expenditures had acknowledgment receipts that were unsigned, illegible, had missing names, or only included signatures, and lacked supporting documents like lease contracts.
“If we should base on these, there could be grounds. But of course, we do not want to conclude yet,” he said.
Last month, Duterte accused Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro of pushing impeachment talks against her.
“The impeachment is constantly being discussed openly in the House of Representatives…And at the center of these talks is France Castro,” the Vice President said in a recorded video interview.
For Constitutional law expert Dan Gatmaytan, “the misuse of confidential and intelligence does fall under betrayal of the public trust.”
Political analyst Froilan Calilung said the “Duterte factor” could make the impeachment attempt politically difficult before it can proceed.
“[It] is possible but will be difficult politically. It is an unpopular move as it smells heavily of political harassment. The election is also another factor,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Chua sees possible grounds to impeach VP Sara, but won’t rush to conclusions.”
