By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte could be impeached by the House of Representatives within the next two weeks, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said Saturday, expressing “very high confidence” the chamber will secure the 106 votes needed to send the case to a Senate trial.
Ridon, a member of the House committee on justice, said the panel is set to meet to approve its report after unanimously finding probable cause to impeach Duterte last Wednesday, April 29.
“The House committee on justice has very high confidence that the 106 votes needed to impeach the vice president will be met. Correspondingly, it will go to the Senate for trial,” Ridon said during the Saturday News Forum.
He added: “Our expectation is that within the next two weeks, we will have transmitted the articles to the Senate and impeached the vice president.”
Once approved, the committee report will be elevated to the plenary next week for deliberations. All 318 House members will receive copies of the articles of impeachment and will be allowed to debate before voting.
The plenary vote is tentatively scheduled for May 4, 2026. If at least one-third of members — or 106 votes — approve, Duterte would become the first impeachable official in Philippine history to face impeachment twice.
All 53 justice panel members present on April 29 voted to declare probable cause in two separate complaints — one endorsed by Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima and another by Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante. The complaints were later consolidated into a single set of articles.
The allegations include the misuse of over P600 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth linked to billions in flagged bank transactions, and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Senate President Tito Sotto said the Senate will act “forthwith” if it receives the articles. “For me, forthwith means the following day,” Sotto said, though a recent Supreme Court ruling clarified that the term means within a “reasonable time” at the Senate’s discretion.
If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office.
Vice presidential spokesperson Michael Poa said Duterte’s legal team is prepared and that no public funds will be used for her defense.
“This is definitely not OVP funds because the case, even though it is in relation to the office, is personal to the Vice President,” Poa said.
Duterte has refused to attend House hearings, saying she will answer the অভিযোগ only if a Senate trial is convened.
ia/xf
