House to vote on sufficiency in substance of VP Sara impeachment complaints

MANILA, Philippines – The House justice committee is scheduled to hold a vote on Wednesday, March 4, regarding the sufficiency in substance of the two active impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The panel will make the determination after it finishes discussions on the second impeachment complaint, which was endorsed by administration-allied lawmakers, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega and Manila 6th District Representative Bienvenido Abante.

The committee already deliberated on the complaint endorsed by Mamamayang Liberal Representative Leila de Lima on Tuesday, March 3.

The De Lima-endorsed petition cited six alleged offenses of the Vice President, from her alleged misuse of confidential funds to her apparent threats to the life of her former ally, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

A key discussion during Tuesday’s proceedings was whether Duterte should be held liable for alleged wrongdoings outside her official functions as Vice President, such as when she supposedly bribed Department of Education officials when she was DepEd chief, or how her wealth grew significantly from 2007 to 2017, when she was a local official in Davao City.

If either of the two petitions passes the substance test, Duterte will be formally notified of the allegations and will be given an opportunity to comment.

The committee will also then proceed to a hearing proper to weigh the merit of the allegations.

Bookmark this page to watch the livestream on Wednesday, March 4, at 10 am. – Rappler.com