Philippine congressional committee rules there's evidence to impeach vice president

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine congressional committee ruled Wednesday that there was “probable cause” to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte after looking into criminal allegations against her, including unexplained wealth, misuse of state funds and threats to have the president assassinated.

The Philippines, a bastion of democracy in Asia, has been plagued for decades by allegations of governance anomalies and political turbulence, including a raging political conflict between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The unanimous decision of the 53-member justice committee of the House of Representatives is the latest setback for the vice president, who has denied any wrongdoing. She has refused to answer specific allegations in detail.

The impeachment complaints centered on Duterte's alleged illegal use and mishandling of huge amounts of funds from the vice president’s office and from her time as education secretary under Marcos.

At Wednesday's hearing, the National Bureau of Investigation said that comments made by Duterte during an online news conference in 2024 to have Marcos, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker killed if she herself was assassinated was a threat to national security.

The justice committee’s decision elevates the two impeachment bids against Duterte to further deliberations and voting by the entire lower chamber, which has more than 300 lawmakers.

If impeached by the entire House, which is dominated by allies of Marcos, she will face trial before the Senate.

Opponents have been specially concerned over Duterte's alleged crimes after she declared her intention to seek the presidency in 2028.

Rep. Gerville Luistro, who heads the justice committee, blasted the vice president for failing to appear in six televised hearings in recent months and for asking the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment inquiry on several allegations, including huge bank transactions over the years that she has not declared as required by law.

“If there is nothing to hide, there is no reason to hide, there is no reason to obstruct,” Luistro said at the start of Wednesday’s committee hearing. “The only people who fear the disclosures of these transactions are those with dirty secrets."

Duterte's husband, Manases Carpio, filed criminal complaints on Monday against Luistro and other legislators and officials after government records of the couple’s bank transactions were made public in a recent House hearing. They said that violated the country’s bank secrecy law.

Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity. The charges stem from the deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office.

Most of the allegations against the vice president had been included in an impeachment complaint she survived on a technicality last year.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach her last year and sent the case to the Senate for trial. The Supreme Court later ruled that the lower chamber violated a constitutional rule that only one impeachment case could be processed by it in a single year.

The vice president remains popular based on independent surveys.

Duterte and the president were running mates in a whirlwind alliance in the 2022 election but have since had a bitter falling out.