MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An impeachment complaint was filed Monday against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing a legal storm over a death threat she leveled against the president, her office’s alleged misuse of public funds and other criminal allegations.
The impeachment bid filed by several prominent opponents and activists in the House of Representatives accuses Duterte of violating the country’s constitution, grand corruption and other “high crimes,” including the death threats she has made against the president , his wife and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. of representatives.
The vice president’s threats showed the “extent of respondent’s mental incapacity, her depravity and lack of mental fitness to continue to hold the high office of Vice President of the Philippines,” according to a copy of the complaint obtained The Associated Press had seen. “This is not only a betrayal of the public trust, but also a grave crime that would warrant her immediate removal from office.”
Duterte, a 46-year-old lawyer, was also accused in the complaint of having unexplained wealth and allowing extrajudicial killings of drug suspects started by her father, a former mayor of southern Davao City, when she held that position in the prison. past.
The vice president’s legal problems have unfolded against the backdrop of her increasingly bitter political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his allies. She said during an online press conference on November 23 that she has contracted a hitman to kill Marcos, his wife and chairman Martin Romualdez if she were killed; a threat warned them that it was not a joke.
She later said she did not threaten him, but expressed concern for her own safety.
The impeachment complaint will be scrutinized by the Philippine Congress, which is dominated by allies of Marcos and his cousin and major financier, Romualdez, who is also at political odds with the vice president.
The process can take weeks or months. Congress begins its Christmas recess on December 20 and resumes on January 13. Many lawmakers will then begin campaigning for re-election before the May 12 midterm elections.
The House of Representatives has been investigating the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos ($10.3 million) in confidential and intelligence funds received by Duterte’s offices as vice president and education secretary. She has since left the teaching post.
She has refused to respond in detail to questions during tense televised hearings. Duterte also protested vehemently when her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was temporarily detained for allegedly obstructing the investigation. Lopez has been released from hospital detention.
Philippine police have filed criminal complaints against Duterte and her security personnel for allegedly attacking authorities and disobeying orders during an altercation in Congress over Lopez’s detention.
Duterte has accused Marcos, his wife and Romualdez of corruption, weak leadership and attempts to silence her over speculation that she could run for president in 2028.
The National Bureau of Investigation summoned Duterte must face investigators over her threats against them.
The police, military and national security adviser immediately increased security for the Marcoses following the threats.
The president has said impeaching Duterte would waste time while the country faces other challenges, but her opponents have said they will promote accountability and the rule of law.
Marcos and Duterte won landslide victories as running mates in the 2022 elections but have since fallen out over key differences. The two offices are elected separately in the Philippines, which has led to rivals occupying the country’s highest political posts.
Marcos and Duterte differ on their approach to and views on Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea deadly crackdown on drugs led by Duterte’s father, Rodrigo Duterte, who in addition to being the ex-mayor of Davao, was also the previous president.
The brutal crackdown left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead in killings, mainly by police, which are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.
Jim Gomez, The Associated Press
