By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte faced a new legal challenge Tuesday after the Department of Justice confirmed the filing of a grave-threats complaint against her before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, even as the Senate impeachment trial continued examining disputed records involving confidential funds.
The DOJ confirmed that the complaint was filed on Aug. 11 in connection with Duterte’s 2024 statement that she had arranged for a person to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed.
The department stressed that the criminal proceedings are separate from the impeachment case pending before the Senate.
The filing creates a new judicial proceeding for Duterte as the Senate continues its examination of allegations involving her use and liquidation of confidential funds.
Inside the impeachment court, the trial remained focused on Article I, which alleges misuse and misappropriation of confidential funds.
Commission on Audit-Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo continued presenting findings from the audit of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential-fund transactions.
The prosecution presented a list of 98 alleged payees appearing in the documentary records submitted for the questioned transactions.
The hearing also examined acknowledgment receipts containing unusual or familiar names.
The documents have become part of the dispute over the liquidation of the confidential funds, with the prosecution seeking to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged payments.
The defense, however, has challenged the prosecution’s presentation and interpretation of the documentary evidence.
The impeachment court must determine the authenticity and evidentiary value of the records, including whether the individuals identified as recipients can be verified and whether the transactions were connected to legitimate confidential activities.
The latest testimony follows earlier COA findings involving P73 million in disallowed confidential-fund expenditures from the OVP’s 2022 transactions.
Del Campo has testified about deficiencies in supporting documents and questions surrounding the timing and nature of some expenditures.
The prosecution is presenting the audit findings as evidence supporting its allegations under Article I.
The defense has disputed the allegations and challenged the prosecution’s interpretation of the records.
The Senate impeachment court is separately tasked with determining whether the evidence presented establishes the constitutional grounds alleged against Duterte.
The grave-threats complaint filed Tuesday will proceed through the judicial system under a separate criminal process.
The DOJ filing also came as the department announced another development involving Duterte.
The DOJ dismissed an inciting-to-sedition complaint previously filed against the Vice President, citing insufficient evidence to support the charge.
The two cases involve different allegations and are being handled separately.
The grave-threats complaint concerns Duterte’s 2024 remarks involving the President, the First Lady and Romualdez, while the impeachment proceedings concern allegations involving her conduct in public office, including the use and liquidation of confidential funds.
Duterte’s camp has said it is prepared to contest the grave-threats case in court.
Meanwhile, the Senate impeachment proceedings are continuing with the examination of documentary evidence and testimony concerning the confidential funds.
The developments place Duterte in simultaneous proceedings before two separate institutions, each governed by different legal processes.
The Senate impeachment court will continue determining the evidentiary and constitutional issues raised in the Articles of Impeachment, while the grave-threats complaint will proceed through the regular judicial process.
For now, the two proceedings remain legally distinct, even as both continue to draw national attention to the Vice President’s conduct and official actions.
