Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon stated on Saturday that the House of Representatives is poised to secure the necessary votes to formally impeach Vice President Sara Duterte when the consolidated articles are presented to the plenary next week.
The lawmaker indicated that the House Committee on Justice anticipates meeting the constitutional requirement of a one-third vote from the entire chamber, which would automatically elevate the case to the Senate for a full trial.
“The House committee on justice has very high confidence na yung 106 votes na kailangan to impeach the Vice President will be met and correspondingly it will go to the Senate for trial,” Ridon remarked during a media forum.
Ridon explained that this confidence stems from the extensive evidence compiled over more than two months of committee-level proceedings.
The House justice panel is scheduled to meet on May 4 to approve its formal report and finalize the consolidated articles of impeachment drawn from two separate complaints.
“Yung ilalatag sa (May 4) will be the final articles of impeachment (na) consolidated na from the two impeachment complaints,” Ridon added.
The finalized charges are expected to center on the alleged misappropriation of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds within the Vice President’s offices, alongside ₱73.3 million in expenditures previously disallowed by the Commission on Audit (COA). Furthermore, the articles will address allegations of unexplained wealth involving billions of pesos in questionable financial transactions.
Beyond financial irregularities, the impeachment articles also cite controversial public statements made by the Vice President. These include alleged threats directed at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Should the committee report be approved on Monday, plenary debates are expected to commence within the next two weeks, potentially making Duterte the first Vice President in Philippine history to face a Senate impeachment trial.