Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media at the Office of The Vice President in Mandaluyong City on December 11, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The House of Representatives may have violated its own rules on its handling of impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, an analyst said Sunday.

As of January 14, the three impeachment complaints filed against Duterte last December have yet to be forwarded to the Office of House Speaker Martin Romualdez — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s cousin — as House Secretary General Reginald Velasco waits for a possible fourth impeachment complaint.

Michael Henry Yusingco — an independent policy analyst and constitutionalist, who is also a lawyer — said that under the chamber's rules, the complaints should have been sent to the Office of the Speaker, which would then have 10 days to put it in the House's order of business.

Progressive solons, complainant attribute 'delay' in processing impeachment complaints against VP Sara Duterte to President’s 'interference

"Ito 'yung dapat nasusunod na mga time periods na ayon mismo sa rules ng mababang kapulungan, na clearly hindi na nasusunod kasi right now merong tatlong impeachment complaints na nakabinbin pa rin sa Office of the Secretary General na hindi dapat ganun ang nangyari," Yusingco told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

(Those are the time periods under their rules and that clearly have not been followed since the three complaints are still with the Office of the Secretary General, and that's not what was supposed to happen)

Unnamed House members behind the possible fourth complaint are supposedly targeting to get the endorsement of one-third of the House members, which would mean the complaint would be sent to the Senate for trial.

Yusingco said the House secretary general has the duty to check the complaints to see if they are valid and verified, which his office has already done.

"Wala na siyang dapat gawin kundi ipadala ito kaagad sa Office of the Speaker," Yusingco said.

(There is nothing for him to do but to forward it to the Office of the Speaker)

Duterte has denied allegations of misuse of confidential funds granted to her office, saying investigations and the complaints stemming from them are political in nature.

Impeachment complaints against Sara Duterte not yet dead, lawyer says

President Ferdinand  Marcos Jr. said late last year that he believes impeachment proceedings will not improve Filipinos' lives and would not accomplish anything.

This has prompted religious group Iglesia ni Cristo to hold a "Peace rally" that it said was in support of the President's position.

'PINK RALLY' HELD TO PUSH IMPEACHMENT

Members of the Solidarity for Justice and Truth, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, and other faith groups gathered at the Plaza de Roma in Intramuros, Manila on Saturday, to call for Duterte's impeachment.

The gathering was also a commemoration of the birthday of the late former President Corazon Aquino.

ACT Teachers Party List Rep. France Castro, who has endorsed one of the complaints, was at the event and stressed the three-seat Makabayan bloc wants proceedings to start.

“So tatlong 'K' ang panawagan. Paglaban sa Kahirapan, paglaban sa Korapsyon, at paglaban sa Kawalang Pananagutan,” she said.

(We are calling for a fight against poverty, corruption and lack of accountability)

Kiko Aquino, grandson of the former president, shared his sentiments on the importance of gathering groups to call for the impeachment of Vice President Dutere.

"Maraming grupo na nakikita na maling-mali talaga yung ginawa ni VP Sara," he said, referring to allegations of misuse of public funds and of making threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

(There are many groups that see that what VP Sara did was wrong)

“Tayong mga mamamayan, ginawa na natin mga papel natin. Sa kongreso naman, kayo na gumawa ng trabaho niyo,” Aquino said. 

(We citizens have done our part. It is time for the House to do its job)

MAKABAYAN CONDEMNS 'DELAY'

In a joint statement Wednesday, Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-List Rep. Raoul Manuel called on their colleagues at the House to "assert their constitutional mandate and not allow the Executive to dictate the pace and outcome of these impeachment proceedings."

Calling out what they said was an "unprecedented delay", they said that "[n]ever in the history of Congress have we witnessed impeachment complaints languishing in the Secretary General's office for more than a month."

Malacañang: Marcos Jr. not deliberately blocking Sara Duterte's impeachment

"The hesitation to transmit and initiate impeachment proceedings clearly stems from President Marcos Jr.'s previous statements admitting that he indeed told his allies not to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte as it was 'not important' and won’t make a difference in Filipinos’ lives," they added. 

Malacañang has said that Marcos is not preventing Congress from pursuing Duterte's impeachment. —with reports from Vivienne Gulla, Beatrice Cuadra, ABS-CBN News

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