House vows to pursue accountability of VP on funds

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is not out of the woods yet, as House leaders vowed to make her answer for her alleged crimes, whether or not the Supreme Court (SC) reverses its decision that rendered Duterte’s impeachment case unconstitutional.

House Deputy Speakers Paolo Ortega V of La Union and Jay Khonghun of Zambales said the House leadership will have no other choice but to pursue the impeachment complaint they filed before the Senate impeachment court if the high tribunal upholds its original verdict.

“If the decision remains, then we will have to discuss after Feb. 6, 2026 how to pursue accountability on the part of VP Duterte for her mishandling of P612.5 million in confidential funds in 2022 and 2023,” Ortega said.

The two said it would be better if the SC changes its mind and allow the Senate impeachment court to start holding the impeachment trial, even if 19 senators voted to archive the Articles of Impeachment.

Under the SC ruling, no impeachment complaint may be filed against Duterte before Feb. 6, 2026.

“Our ruling does not absolve petitioner VP Duterte from any of the charges. Any ruling on the charges against her can only be accomplished through another impeachment process, followed by a trial and conviction by the Senate,” the SC clarified.

Ortega said he agrees with President Marcos that the fight is not yet over, especially in light of the fact that the SC magistrates didn’t discuss the merits of the case.

“I agree with the President. The SC decision delved on procedural issues but not on the alleged misuse of CIFs (confidential and intelligence funds) received by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was education secretary,” Ortega said.

“The accountability part was not resolved, so we intend to continue asking her to account for those funds and answer for how they have been handled or mishandled,” he added.

For his part, Khonghun slammed the disinformation campaign on social media that makes it seem like Duterte was already absolved of the crimes she is being accused of.

“The Duterte camp’s trolls and disinformation peddlers are busy at work again,” he said.

“The VP is not yet off the hook on the use of this large amount of taxpayers’ money. We will pursue accountability on her part wherever it takes us,” he added.