House panel declares 2 impeach raps vs. VP Sara sufficient in form

By Zaldy De Layola, Philippine News Agency

Vice President Sara Duterte (Inday Sara Duterte/facebook)

MANILA – The House Committee on Justice on Monday declared two remaining impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte sufficient in form, allowing the proceedings to move forward after setting aside one complaint and approving the withdrawal of another.

In separate motions without objection, the panel ruled that the complaints filed by Fr. Jose Saballa et al. and by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera met the formal requirements under House rules.

“The Chair declares the third impeachment complaint, that is Father Saballa et al. impeachment complaint, sufficient in form. So ruled,” committee chair Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro announced after a motion by vice chair San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora was seconded without objection.

The Saballa et al. complaint was endorsed by Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima.

The committee also approved the fourth complaint endorsed by Deputy Speaker Francisco Paolo Ortega V and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.

“The Chair declares the fourth impeachment complaint, that is Cabrera impeachment complaint, sufficient in form. So ruled,” Luistro said, following a motion by GP Party-list Rep. Jose Gay Padiernos that was likewise seconded and unopposed.

The rulings send the two complaints to the next stage — determination of sufficiency in substance — where the panel will examine whether the allegations, if true, constitute impeachable offenses under the Constitution.

Earlier in the hearing, the committee voted 22-10 to set aside the first impeachment complaint filed on Feb. 2, 2026, by former lawmakers and activist groups and endorsed by the Makabayan bloc, ruling that it fell within the Constitution’s one-year bar.

The majority said the Supreme Court’s July 25, 2025 ruling made clear that no impeachment proceeding may be commenced before Feb. 6, 2026, and that the Feb. 2 filing constituted such commencement.

During the hearing, the justice panel also approved the withdrawal of the complaint filed by Tindig Pilipinas co-convener Francis Joseph “Kiko” Aquino Dee.

In a letter to the committee, Dee and his co-complainants said they were withdrawing their Feb. 2, 2026 verified complaint after careful deliberation and would instead support the third impeachment complaint filed by Saballa and others.

The impeachment complaints against the Vice President cite betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery and other high crimes under Article XI, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution