DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 02 December) – An impeachment complaint was filed against Vice President Sara Duterte Monday afternoon, December 2, amid the worsening rift between her and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a statement, Akbayan party-list Representative Perci Cendaña confirmed that he endorsed the first impeachment complaint against Duterte filed by a group of “brave citizens,” which he said marked “a critical juncture in our nation’s demand for accountability.”
This developed amid the investigation, in “aid of legislation,” of the Committee on Good Government and Accountability of the House of Representatives to examine the alleged misuse of public funds by the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education where Duterte served as secretary until her resignation on June 19, 2024.
The filing of an impeachment case against Duterte came even after Marcos had dissuaded the House against taking such course.
Last Friday, Marcos, in a leaked text message, asked his allies in the lower chamber not to initiate impeachment proceedings against Duterte.
“This (impeachment) is not important. This does not make any difference to even one single Filipino’s life, so why waste time on this?” he said. “What will happen to the – if somebody files an impeachment? It will tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate. It will just take up all our time, for what? For nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino’s life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a storm in a tea cup.”
Cendeña said that the filing of the impeachment complaint was “a first step,” hoping that it would pave the way for further efforts “to bring the Dutertes and their allies before the altar of justice.”
“We must demand a future free from the shadows of corruption and abuse—a future where power is wielded responsibly and in service of the Filipino people,” he said.
Cendaña stated that he supports the calls to hold Duterte accountable for “her blatant violations of the Constitution, egregious corruption, and complicity in mass murder.”
“It is time for the people to end the nightmare that Sara has caused. Vice President Duterte deserves to be impeached for her abuse of power and plunder of the nation’s coffers,” he said.
He stressed that the Filipino people deserve a vice president “who is ethical, accountable, and committed to public service—not one who weaponizes authority for personal gain.”
Cendaña said that the effort to hold the vice president “accountable is inseparable from the broader campaign” to have her father, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, and his allies answerable for the bloody war on drugs during his administration.
The campaign against illegal drugs claimed thousands of “lives, leaving behind a trail of grieving families demanding justice, closure, and healing,” according to Cendaña.
He said that justice remains elusive as the perpetrators continue to “evade accountability and cling to power.”
“Our country must not allow the Duterte family’s legacy of corruption and mass murder to persist unchallenged. The entrenched culture of impunity and graft will only be dismantled when those who perpetuate and profit from it are held to account,” Cendaña said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
