Lawmakers aiming for landslide vote on Sara Duterte impeachment

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers pushing the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte are aiming for a significantly wider margin of votes than the minimum required, ahead of the plenary voting at the House of Representatives.

Rep. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro Party-list), a member of the House justice committee, said supporters are targeting as many as 215 votes.

This is well above the constitutional threshold of 106, or one-third of House members, needed to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate.

"Kung ang minimum requirement lang ay 106, tingin ko hindi na iyon mahirap gawin (If the minium is just 106, I think that's not hard to reach)," Ridon said at the livestreamed Saturday News Forum in Quezon City on May 2. "But at the very best, we would want to get 215 minimum number of votes."

The House Committee on Justice earlier found probable cause to impeach the vice president in a unanimous vote. The finding followed hearings that examined allegations involving the use of confidential funds, financial disclosures, and claims of unexplained wealth linked to Duterte and her family.

Ridon said the evidence was solid enough to support the impeachment case.

"On fund misuse, sobrang linaw ng P448 million na pinapasauli sa panagalawang pangulo," he said. (The P448 million that the vice president is being asked to return is very clearf.)

Next step: Senate trial

Among the issues raised during the hearings were alleged misuse of at least P612.5 million in confidential funds, portions of which were flagged or disallowed by the Commission on Audit.

Ridon also pointed to P6.7 billion in transactions linked to the Duterte-Carpio family that were discussed in the inquiry, as well as testimony alleging threats against government officials.

A committee meeting to approve the panel report is expected, after which the plenary is set to deliberate on the case "within the week, or next week," Ridon said.

Once approved by the House plenary, the articles of impeachment will be sent to the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court to try the case.

Lawmakers expect the articles of impeachment to be transmitted to the Senate within two weeks if the timeline holds.

"Within the next two weeks, we will have transmitted it to the Senate and have impeached the vice president," he said.

The vice president, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations and previously described the impeachment proceedings as a "fishing expedition." She did not, however, participate in the proceedings, while her office said she would instead attend the Senate trial.