Vice President Sara Duterte (INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — Several lawmakers are actively looking for at least 103 colleagues who will endorse a fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte for it to be fast-tracked, House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Tuesday.
In an interview with reporters at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Velasco said that a group of 12 lawmakers from both the majority and the minority have informed him that the plan is to file a fourth complaint that will be endorsed by over one-third of all House members, so that it can be forwarded immediately to the Senate.
Article continues after this advertisementWith the House having 310 members, a one-third vote will require 103 signatures.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO ‘Show of force’: 1.8M join INC peace rally NEWSINFO House appropriations panel head steps down NEWSINFO Acop: What do you need 20 guns for?“Well ‘yon ang sabi sa akin (That’s what they told me), the plan to get (that), to file a new complaint endorsed by one-third,” Velasco said when asked if there are steps taken by this group to get signatures from fellow House members.
“So, the plan is really to come up with another complaint, because the whole procedure will take some time, so they are thinking about the so-called fast-tracked process whereby one-third of the House members can […] endorse a new complaint,” Velasco said.
Article continues after this advertisementUnder Section 3, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, there are two ways an impeachment complaint can move forward: first, if a verified complaint is deliberated by the proper committees, which eventually results in a voting process involving all House members.
Article continues after this advertisementA one-third vote will ensure that the complaint would be forwarded to the Senate.
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Article continues after this advertisementSuch a process, however, will require lengthy processes, and there are concerns that the 19th Congress is out of time.
The second method, which is quicker, allows the immediate convening of a Senate trial if one-thirds of all House members file the impeachment complaint.
Article continues after this advertisement“In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed,” the Constitution states.
Velasco said this provision may be used by the group of majority and minority lawmakers.
“So, under our procedures, the moment I receive and verify this complaint, endorsed, signed by a minimum of 103 House members, we can immediately transmit it to the Senate for action,” Velasco said.
“So, this is what other House members are thinking of. Of course, the other House members are also thinking of endorsing one of the three complaints. So, that’s the situation now.”
According to Velasco, he would give this group of lawmakers, whom he refused to identify, some more time to find endorsers. But if the fourth complaint against Duterte has not been filed until Thursday next week, Velasco said he will be forced to forward the first three petitions to the Office of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
“So, my hands are tied. I’ll have to give them some more time […] I think next week will be a fair time for them to decide. Then I may be forced to transmit whatever complaints that I have received to the Speaker by next week,” Velasco said.
Existing impeachment complaints against Duterte were mostly hinged on the findings of the House committee on good government and public accountability, which investigated accusations that her offices — the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and previously, the Department of Education (DepEd) — misused confidential fund (CF) allocations.
Over the course of the panel’s hearings, it was revealed that some of the acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for the CFs were signed by a certain Mary Grace Piattos — which Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop said bears a first name similar to a coffee shop, and a surname that is a famous potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two ARs — one for OVP and another for the DepEd — which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin.
However, the signatures and handwriting of Villamin differed.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) eventually said that the names Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin do not exist in their live birth, marriage, and death registry.
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Furthermorejackpot city casino, PSA said that they have no records of the more than 400 names on the ARs for the DepEd’s CFs.
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