A second impeachment complaint has been filed against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, this time by a group led by left-wing activists who accuse her of misusing government funds and want her barred from public office.
AP reported that at least 74 activists, including human rights, labour and student leaders, submitted the complaint to the House of Representatives in Manila. The filing raises the pressure on Duterte, who was already facing an earlier complaint filed days before. She did not immediately comment on the new allegations.
The complaint accuses the vice president of betrayal of public trust over the alleged illegal use and mishandling of 612.5 million pesos, or about $10.3 million, in confidential funds. It also alleges that she and her staff covered up irregularities by submitting fabricated reports, receipts and documents to the Commission on Audit and obstructed a congressional investigation. The complainants said her office spent 125 million pesos in 11 days during the 2022 Christmas period on items such as safe houses, unspecified confidential information and rewards.
The filing reflects the intensity of the political feud surrounding Duterte. Her main opponent is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and AP notes that she had recently threatened him with death during an online news conference, prompting a criminal investigation. Duterte later tried to recast the remarks as concern for her own safety rather than a direct threat.
The political backdrop is equally fraught. Duterte is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose bloody anti-drug campaign is under investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity. That family legacy, combined with the current feud with Marcos, makes the vice president one of the most polarising figures in the Philippines.
The complaint will now move into the House process, where allies of Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez dominate. AP said the process could take weeks or months, with Congress headed toward a Christmas recess and then the start of campaign season before the May midterm elections.
For Duterte, the new complaint is not just a legal filing but another signal that her political position is worsening. For Marcos’s camp, it may become another front in a broader effort to weaken a rival whose popularity and family name still carry real weight.
At minimum, the complaint ensures that the fight around Duterte is not going away soon. It now spans impeachment, fund-use allegations, criminal scrutiny and the larger struggle over who controls the country’s political narrative.
