MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte must first be impeached before any graft or plunder charges can be filed, a House leader said on Mondaypera7, October 28. 

Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), who heads the House inquiry into Duterte's alleged misuse of public funds, named two potential grounds for the vice president’s impeachment: graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust. 

Sounding confident that Duterte will be impeached, Chua said at a press conference, “So after the impeachment, once proven or impeached, that’s the time for cases to be filed against the vice president.”

What immunity does a VP have? While the 1987 Constitution does not state that the president and vice president are immune from prosecution, the Supreme Court ruled in the 2019 De Lima vs. Duterte case that a president is immune from criminal and civil cases only while in office. 

As there is no law explicitly granting the vice president the same privileges, some lawyers, including Romulo Macalintal, suggested in 2021 that presidential immunity could be extended to the vice president.

However, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra stated in 2019, when he was a Justice secretary, that the vice president is not immune from criminal charges while in office.

Whether charges could be filed against the vice president, Duterte is an impeachable official according to the Constitution, which means that a case will not be sufficient to remove her from office. 

Reasons for impeachment

Safehouses. Chua referenced the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s findings from October 17, revealing that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent P16 million in confidential funds on 34 safe houses within just 11 days in December 2022.

Audit reports indicated that rental payments ranged from P250,000 to P1 million per day. Given this amount, lawmakers calculated that the most expensive safehouse rented by the OVP cost P91,000 per day for 11 days.

The committee, however, was quick to point out the lack of proper documentation for the rental payments, emphasizing the difficulty in verifying the identities of those who received acknowledgment receipts due to illegible handwriting or the use of only signatures and initials instead of full names.

“‘Yung P16 million na rental for safe houses [noong last quarter of 2022], walang detalye. Hindi po natin alam kung totoo nga pong nagamit sa rentals,” Chua said in a statement. 

(The P16 million rental for safe houses during the last quarter of 2022 lacks details. We do not know if it was actually used for rentals.)

RELATED: OVP spent P16 million in confidential funds on 34 safehouses in 2022 — COA

Youth leadership summits. The committee also identified a discrepancy regarding the use of confidential funds for the military-led “youth leadership summits,” as the Philippine Army denied receiving P15 million from the Department of Education (DepEd). Military officers told lawmakers that the Philippine Army and local government units mainly financed the said youth training program.  

Duterte made a similar statement during her press conference on October 18, asserting that DepEd did not utilize confidential funds for the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the leadership summits. 

She clarified that the confidential funds were used to provide “supporting information” about areas identified in reports received by DepEd where “children are at risk.”

This denial contradicts four certifications received by COA which confirm the release of these funds to the Army. 

RELATED: House hearing surfaces conflicting claims on DepEd's confidential funds for 'leadership summits' 

“Pare-parehas po tayong nagtatanong kung saan napunta ‘yung P15 million. May certification, sine-certify pero inamin naman ng Army na hindi sa kanila napunta, walang dinownload. Ngayon ang tanong — saan napunta?” Chua said.

(We are all wondering where the P15 million went. There is a certification, but the Army admitted that it did not go to them, that nothing was downloaded. Now the question is — where did it go?)

Qualifications for plunder

To file plunder charges, Republic Act 7080 stipulates that the ill-gotten wealth must amount to at least P50 million. This requirement is why Chua informed reporters that they are still assessing which cases will be included.

House lawmakers have also examined the P73 million inappropriately spent by the OVP from confidential funds, as reported by state auditors, which included expenditures for relief goods and medicines. 

COA disallowed this amount as part of the P125 million spent in just 11 days, meaning the P73 million must be returned to the government as they have been deemed as “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or illegal.”

If the committee validates the grounds for impeachment, Chua said that they will present it to the House Committee on Justice, which is responsible for making an impeachment recommendation that will be discussed in a plenary session.

The chairman of the good governance committee reiterated that the inquiry is conducted “in aid of legislation,” emphasizing that the possible filing of an impeachment complaint is a consequence of the evidence gathered.

To impeach a public official, the House of Representatives must secure at least one-third of the vote for referral to the Senate. The vice president will then be tried in the Senatepera7, where a two-thirds majority vote is required for conviction.

Related Stories House hearing surfaces conflicting claims on DepEd's confidential funds for 'leadership summits' OVP spent P16 million in confidential funds on 34 safehouses in 2022 — COA

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