‘More robust’ 4th complaint got House impeach move going
As early as December last year, as three impeachment complaints were filed in a span of a few days against Vice President Sara Duterte, talks began in earnest and continued for weeks among the major political parties at the House of Representatives.
To endorse or not to endorse, that was the question, which hung unresolved for almost two months.
According to two House members, it took a fourth complaint to galvanize the major blocs—mainly the Lakas-CMD, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, National Unity Party (NUP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, and the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc.—into finally setting the impeachment of the Vice President in motion.
“As far as party consultations are concerned, it has been ongoing since the first impeachment complaint was filed,” Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said in a press conference on Thursday, a day after the chamber transmitted an impeachment complaint endorsed by 215 members to the Senate.
“Internally, depending on the party, depending on their approach, they asked if there are members in favor of impeachment, what kind of impeachment (charges) must be pursued,” Defensor said.
“Admittedly, it’s a long time coming,” 1-Rider Rep. Rodge Gutierrez added.
By that time, Gutierrez said, “we’ve already formed opinions from the hearings of the quad committee and the good government committees.”
No consensus yet
“But the first three complaints did not gather consensus, did not gather the momentum needed,” he said. “While most congressmen, especially the members of the justice committee, were eagerly awaiting to fulfill our mandate by hearing it, I believe the party leaders have already thought of finding consensus between the three.”
Gutierrez was referring to the first three impeachment complaints filed on Dec. 2, Dec. 4 and Dec. 19, respectively, by various civil society and religious groups and later endorsed by members of the House minority.
To come up with a fourth complaint, Defensor said, the parties “held consultations… and thus we were able to form a more robust and clearer impeachment complaint that gathered the support and confidence of the congressmen.”
“That is why with this fourth impeachment complaint, where the evidence is presented in a stronger manner, it gave confidence to more than 200—or 215—congressmen to act as complainants,” he explained.
‘Destab’ moves
What set the fourth complaint apart from the others was the allegation that Duterte—on top of her alleged misuse of confidence funds—engaged in acts aimed at destabilizing the Marcos administration.
These acts included her boycott of the 2024 State of the Nation Address and declaring herself “designated survivor”; leading rallies calling for the President’s resignation; publicly defending fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, who is accused of serious crimes; obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas; and disclosing that she had arranged the assassination of President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez in case she is killed in an alleged plot against her.
And unlike the first three, the fourth complaint was authored and endorsed by the majority lawmakers themselves.
Defensor and Gutierrez were among the 11 House members who will make up the prosecution panel once the Senate convenes as an impeachment court for Duterte’s trial.
Wednesday morning caucus
They declined to reveal who among the lawmakers were directly involved in crafting the fourth complaint, saying only that it was the result of consultations.
Also on Thursday, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said she and other members of the Makabayan bloc learned of the impeachment reaching a decisive stage on Wednesday morning, when the House leadership called members to a caucus at Romualdez Hall.
It was there that they were shown the final draft of the fourth complaint, Castro added.
Among those who spoke to urge colleagues to endorse it were Majority Leader Jose Manuel Dalipe, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. of the NUP and Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga of the NPC.
She said she was informed by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga that there were already 80 signatures on the complaint as of Tuesday night.
‘A proper case’
Romualdez, however, did not speak during the caucus, Castro also recalled.
“But there was nobody forced to sign, no coercion. There were even six copies given out by the secretariat (for signing). We all read the complaint and we were content with the articles and the grounds laid down there,” she added.
Also speaking at the press conference, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, the assistant majority leader, said the timing of the impeachment “was a consequence of consensus-building and building a proper case that most congressmen would see fit for challenge.”
“As someone from Mindanao, I understand the (reservations),” Adiong added. “But in this impeachment case, there are serious offenses, high crimes committed by the Vice President. We cannot just turn a blind eye and be more concerned about the possible backlash that it may cause us politically… but that is already an issue of being a public servant.”
“There certainly will be consequences to every elective official,” added Defensor, who is seeking reelection in his district. “But if I didn’t sign this impeachment complaint, and if I didn’t accept the election as prosecutor, there would be far bigger and worse consequences if I turned my back on the Constitution and I did not do my constitutional duty to prosecute it.”
