Impeachment complaint filed vs VP Sara

Advocacy groups on Monday afternoon filed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte and endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña. 

The complaint was filed in the Secretary General’s Office at the House of Representatives by civil society organizations, religious leaders, sectoral representatives, and families of victims of extrajudicial killings. It was officially received by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco at 4:30 p.m.

The complainants were Teresita Quintos Deles, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Fr. Robert Reyes, Randy Delos Santos (uncle of Tokhang victim Kian Delos Santos), Francis Aquino Dee, Leah Navarro, Sylvia Estrada Claudio, Alicia Murphy, Sr. Mary Grace De Guzman, and former Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, among others. 

They were accompanied by Mamamayang Liberal partylist first nominee and former senator Leila De Lima, who acted as the group's spokesperson.

In an ambush interview, Cendaña said the grounds for the impeachment complaint include betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Constitution, and other high crimes.

“Today, I formally endorse the first-ever and historic impeachment complaint filed by our citizens against Vice President Sara Duterte. This moment marks a critical juncture in our nation's demand for accountability,” the solon said. 

“I stand in full support of the brave citizens calling for Duterte to answer for her blatant violations of the Constitution, egregious corruption, and complicity in mass murder,” he added. 

According to Cendaña, Duterte deserves to be impeached for her alleged abuse of power and plunder of the nation’s coffers. He also said that the country must not allow the Duterte family’s “legacy of corruption and mass murder to persist unchallenged.”

“The entrenched culture of impunity and graft will only be dismantled when those who perpetuate and profit from it are held to account. This impeachment complaint is but a first step. It must inspire and pave the way for further efforts to bring the Dutertes and their allies before the altar of justice,” he said. 

GMA News Online sought comment from the Office of the Vice President, and will update this story once it responds.

The impeachment complaint was filed a week after Duterte made the controversial remark of contracting someone to kill President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, if an alleged plot against her succeeds. 

She later on clarified that her statement was not a threat, saying she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security. She also said that her remark was "taken out of logical context."

Authorities, however, have considered Duterte’s remarks as a threat to the President and a matter of national security. 

Marcos has also vowed to block "criminal attempts" against him.

The President, however, later on said he is not supportive of any impeachment plan against Duterte, believing that it would not benefit the lives of Filipinos.—AOL, GMA Integrated News