The impeachment complaints in a nutshell

By Herbert Vego

THE House of Representatives has a herculean task that may be easier said than done as far as the two impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara
Duterte are concerned.

The Constitution provides that only one-third of the congressmen – or 105 of the 316 of them – constitutes the sufficient number to elevate the complaint to the Senate within 60 days.

There is reason to fear that congressmen may not vote according to the rule of law.  Their primordial interest hinges on whether their decision would help them win the positions they are running for on May 12, 2025.

The Senate would have to convict – by two thirds or 16 out of 24 senators — the impeached within their present term, which ends on June 6, 2025. Their decision could be swayed also by their intimacy to the Vice President.

“If trial starts and is not finished by the Senate in its current composition,” to quote former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Abdiel Fajardo, “ then the articles of impeachment submitted by the House becomes functus officio [no more legal effect]. Impeachment fails or is mooted.”

Anyway, to stop being cynical, let’s pretend that the present 19^th Congress, on the proverbial road to Damascus, would experience a radical change of heart.

For a brief recap, the first impeachment complaint against Duterte, filed by former senator Leila de Lima and 16 other individuals, was endorsed by Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña on December 1, 2024.

The second one filed by 74 leaders and members of cause-oriented groups and endorsed by Makabayan bloc congressmen France Castro, Raoul Manuel and Arlene Brosas focuses on the alleged illegal use and mishandling of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out VP Sara over failure of the Department of Education (DepEd) to settle its huge disallowances, suspensions and charges, which stood at ₱12.3 billion as of the end of 2023, her last full year as DepEd secretary.

The COA report also showed that the DepEd in 2023, was able to build only 192, or just 3%, of the 6,379 target classrooms

As to why the second complaint is centered on betrayal of public trust, former congressman and Alyansang Makabayan legal counsel Neri Colmenares opined that this single ground would simplify and expedite the proceedings.

What about her alleged threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez?

Colmenares said there is no direct reference to that because it would be better handled by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is now probing the issue for alleged grave threats and possible violation of Republic Act No. 11479, otherwise known as the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The likely legal battle over Duterte’s alleged assassination threat is expected to fuel a prolonged propaganda war between the Duterte and Marcos camps in the run-up to the 2025 national and local elections, all the way to the 2028 presidential election.

It is no secret that both VP Sara and Speaker Romualdez are gearing up for the presidency.

-oOo-

MORE POWER A BOON TO ECONOMY

THE growth in MORE Electric and Power Corporation.’s customer base has contributed an average of P4.99 billion annually to Iloilo City’s economy, according to the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).

To explain it briefly, the distribution utility has greatly expanded its customer base within four years from 62,000 in 2020 to almost 100,000 today.

“On average, what is injected into the economy of Iloilo is close to P5 billion or almost 4% of the economy of the city of Iloilo,” UA&P President Winston Conrad B. Padojinog said.

Padojinog attributed the 3.8% gross city domestic product to MORE Power being a reliable electricity service distributor, creating an average of 2,200 jobs every year.

Under the leadership of President/CEO Roel Castro, MORE Power has created around 6,693 jobs, both directly and indirectly.