More than a month since the first impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte was filed in the House of Representatives, the chamber has not gotten the ball rolling.
The first complaint — and the two succeeding ones — have not reached the desk of Speaker Martin Romualdez, remaining stuck in House Secretary General Reginald Velasco’s office. Without the latter’s referral to Romualdez, the constitutional shot clock does not even start.
It’s not a secret that the entire legislative branch is under a tight timetable to impeach the Vice President if it even decides to go that route. What is a less known fact is that Duterte will get to benefit from constitutional immunity should the process — once formalized — fail.
Could that be the reason for the House’s sluggish response to the complaints against the Vice President?
Timeline
There are three impeachment complaints so far:
- the first one on December 2, 2024, filed by civic organizations fronted by former senator Leila de Lima, and endorsed by Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña
- the second one on December 4, 2024, filed by left-leaning organizations, endorsed by Makabayan lawmakers France Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Raoul Manuel
- the third one on December 19, 2024, filed mostly by members of the clergy, endorsed by Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Gabriel Bordado and AAMBIS-OWA Representative Lex Colada
The Constitution says that a verified impeachment complaint that has the backing of at least one lawmaker “shall be included in the order of business within 10 session days” from filing, and “referred to the proper committee within three session days after.”
If we are to go strictly by this, the first complaint should have been calendared in the plenary no later than January 13, 2025, the 10th session day since December 2, 2024. It should have also been endorsed no later than January 20, but that wasn’t the case.
Secretary General Velasco, whose office receives all the complaints, has come up with numerous reasons to justify the prolonged referral of the petitions to the Speaker:
- His legal team was “thoroughly studying” the complaints before he can say they are “verified.” (December 5, 2024)
- When there were only two complaints, Velasco said he was still waiting for a third complaint, so that he can transmit all complaints all at once. (December 5, 2024)
- He said a fourth group requested an extension of the date of transmission, as they were thinking of filing another impeachment complaint against the Vice President. (January 2, 2025)
- He said that transmitting only the first three impeachment complaints would guarantee failure, since they were endorsed by only a combined six lawmakers. (January 18, 2025)
The official House Rules do not provide a deadline for the House Secretary General to forward them to the Speaker. The handbook only says the complaints must be “immediately referred to the Speaker.”
“[Velasco’s] role is ministerial, not discretionary yet not a single complaint has been transmitted to the Speaker for proper referral. Why the delay?” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, one of the co-signatories in the Makabayan-led impeachment complaint, said.
Immunity
A failed impeachment effort now could actually benefit the Vice President.
The 1987 Constitution states: “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”
While three complaints have been filed against Duterte, the impeachment proceedings, in a technical sense, have not been initiated.
The Supreme Court ruled in November 2003 that an impeachment proceeding is considered “initiated” once the complaint or resolution has been referred to the justice committee.
In June 2003, former president Joseph Estrada filed an impeachment complaint against then-Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide. It was referred to the justice committee, which dismissed the petition in October. The same month, two more lawmakers filed a second impeachment complaint against Davide, with a resolution of endorsement signed by at least one-third of the House.
“The second impeachment complaint…violates the constitutional prohibition against the initiation of impeachment proceedings against the same impeachable officer within a one-year period,” the 2003 ruling read.
Velasco is aware of this implication in Duterte’s case, saying in a “Teleradyo Serbisyo” interview: “Let’s say that has already been referred to the justice committee. We will have to wait for one year before we can file another impeachment complaint against the same official.”
Lawmakers have been lukewarm to the idea of impeaching the Vice President, in the wake of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s public opposition to have her removed from office. His pronouncements derailed the momentum built by the House in 2024, when it was actively investigating Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds.
There’s also a major time constraint. The House goes on break on February 7, before the start of the campaign period, and will be back for only around six session days in June, just before lawmakers are replaced by a new batch of election winners. Even if the House impeaches Duterte, the Senate virtually has no time to try the Vice President.
If any impeachment complaint referred to the justice committee fails to remove Duterte from office, her political opponents would have to wait another year before they can try impeaching her again.
Still, advocates of her impeachment believe the complaints that were filed deserve to be properly heard.
“Delays in handling duly received and verified impeachment complaints will only give Sara Duterte more time to pull strings in her favor and spread false narratives regarding her misuse of public funds,” Kabataan Representative Manuel told Rappler.
“If a fourth impeachment complaint is forthcoming, it should not be a reason to delay the progress of the previous three impeachment complaints.” – Rappler.com