Vice President Sara Duterte, October 22, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday distanced itself from the impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña on Monday endorsed the impeachment complaint from civil society organizations and families of Tokhang victims, marking the first ouster raps filed against the Vice President, who said she had instructed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed.

“The impeachment complaint filed in the House of Representatives by several private citizens is clearly the complainants’ independent initiative, and its endorsement the prerogative of any Member of the House of Representatives,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.

“The Office of the President has nothing to do with it,” he said.

“The President’s earlier statement on the matter is unambiguous,” he said.

Marcos Jr. last week said he had discouraged some lawmakers from filing an impeachment against Duterte, adding that the controversies hounding the Vice President were just a “storm in a teacup.”

An impeachment complaint will distract government officials and the nation from more pressing issues, the President said.

VP Sara Duterte mum on Marcos Jr.'s recent impeachment remarks

The complaint adds to Duterte's legal woes as she faces a probe into her alleged death threat against Marcos and another inquiry into her use of government funds.

The Vice President insisted that she was being politically harassed for being a "threat" in the 2028 presidential elections.