By Alex Alagon
BY ALEX ALAGON
BY ALEX ALAGON
- VP Sara slams new impeachment talks
VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte described the latest pronouncement of a new impeachment complaint by some House of Representatives members as an unsurprising attempt to use the constitutional process as a “budget-driven racket.”
In a statement on Monday, Dec 8, the vice president pointed to the timing of the complaint, noting that it comes just before the passage of the 2026 national budget.
“This constitutional mechanism is being dangled once again as a bargaining chip right before the 2026 national budget is passed,” Duterte said. “To those who continue to exploit the impeachment process, stop hiding behind the language of ‘good governance.'”
In an interview with 24 Oras on Dec. 1, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chairperson Teddy Casiño revealed that they would immediately file an impeachment complaint against Duterte once the one-year ban expires on Feb. 5, 2025.
In July this year, the Supreme Court struck down the impeachment complaint referred to the Senate as unconstitutional, as it violated the one-year rule. Instead, the court advised the complainants to try again in February next year.
The vice president referenced earlier statements made by legislators—specifically naming Senator Chiz Escudero and Representative Toby Tiangco—who, in February 2024, allegedly revealed that signatures for her impeachment were being sought “in exchange for budget allocations.”
Duterte said those statements “unmasked the truth that the impeachment complaint against me was never really driven by principle but by price.”
She criticized the lack of congressional inquiry into those serious allegations to hold the perpetrators “accountable for the billions of pesos that were squandered on political warfare.”
Nonetheless, she vowed to fight back against the political persecution.
“I have always stood ready to answer any allegation grounded in fact and truth. But I cannot remain silent while the impeachment process is being twisted into a budget-driven racket,” she stated, concluding with the assertion that “Filipinos deserve better.”
