House vows same standards for Sara impeachment review

THE House of Representatives Justice Committee will review the impeachment complaints against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio with the same strict standards applied to those against President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., its chairwoman said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Batangas Rep. Gerville R. Luistro said the Justice committee would apply the same “constitutional standards” it used in evaluating the ouster bids against Mr. Marcos, which the lower chamber dismissed after finding it lacked merit.

“The parameters, deliberations and approach used by the Justice committee in handling the impeachment complaints against the President will likewise be adopted for evaluating and determining the sufficiency in form and substance of the impeachment complaints against the Vice-President,” she said.

Ms. Duterte faces three impeachment complaints alleging the misuse of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds allocated to her office and to the Education department when she was secretary.

The House is dominated by Marcos allies, and analysts said the chamber’s composition plays a key role in the impeachment process.

The rejection of the ouster charges showed Mr. Marcos still wields influence in the 318-member Legislature, with impeachment votes likely to be swayed based on political lines.

“Since the legislative majority remains closely aligned with Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. rather than with Sara Duterte, impeachment proceedings may be treated less as a protective institutional exercise and more as a viable accountability pathway,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Impeachment rarely moves on legal sufficiency alone,” he said. “It advances when constitutional grounds intersect with coalition stability and political timing, which are both present in this case.”

“We haven’t seen the complaints yet,” said Ms. Luistro. The ouster charges had not been sent to the Justice committee, which will evaluate whether the allegations meet the threshold to elevate the case to the Senate, which sits as an impeachment court.

Sending the complaints to the committee also blocks other groups from filing separate charges, protecting the Vice-President from another impeachment bid within the same calendar year.

Ms. Duterte was impeached by the House last year, but the Supreme Court later voided the proceedings, ruling that lawmakers violated constitutional rules by bypassing earlier complaints. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio