For the second time, and now with an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on accusations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and threats to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. killed. Duterte is the first Filipino official to be impeached twice. The first time was in 2025, with...
Author: Christine O. Avendaño (Christine Avendaño)
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Only 2 more signatures needed for flood control corruption report to reach Senate floor
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is seeking two more members of the blue ribbon committee that would sign the controversial partial report on the flood control corruption so the chamber can push for reforms to “dismantle” its “very anatomy.” Reporting on the partial committee report on Tuesday on the floor, Lacson acknowledged that only...
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Unanimous vote for articles of impeachment vs VP Duterte
The impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte is one step away from being tried in the Senate, with the House justice committee unanimously approving on Monday the committee report finding probable cause to impeach her. It took almost two hours before 55 members of the committee voted unanimously for the amended committee report and...
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House justice committee finds probable cause to impeach VP Sara Duterte
After a total of six hearings that looked into Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, misuse and abuse of confidential funds, and grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and then Speaker Martin Romualdez, the House of Representatives’ justice committee has found probable cause to impeach her. The vote was unanimous in the committee’s...
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The House justice committee enters ‘a territory of forensic truth’
Vice President Sara Duterte had billion of pesos in transactions that were flagged by banks to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), despite declaring official income and net worth way below her bank records. For certain years, she failed to declare her cash on hand and cash deposits in her statements of assets, liabilities and net...
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Ramil Madriaga’s story of service and betrayal
Explosive allegations were made against Vice President Sara Duterte and her father by a man claiming to be her former aide and bagman at the resumption of the impeachment proceedings conducted by the House justice committee on Tuesday. Ramil Madriaga was occasionally overcome by emotion as he read aloud a supplemental affidavit that he swore...
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House justice committee votes to summon Vice President’s documents
The House of Representatives’ committee on justice voted on Wednesday to summon witnesses and documents it deemed necessary to determine “probable cause” to bring Vice President Sara Duterte to trial at the Senate impeachment court. Among the documents are the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in its probe into Duterte’s threat in...
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Lacson confident of 9 senators’ signatures on blue ribbon committee’s partial report
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson believes he can get nine members of the blue ribbon committee that he chairs to sign its controversial partial report on the corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. So far, only he and three others — Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Pangilinan — have signed...
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‘Jurassic’ Senate prez recounts how the coup attempt went down
Was the leadership of Senate President Vicente Sotto III truly in peril last Feb. 4, when rumors swirled that the 9-member minority had gathered more than the so-called “Magic 13” votes to unseat him? As the 3 p.m. session of the Senate began that Wednesday, Sotto presided over the calendar of business which included honoring the achievements...
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Bonoan’s ‘bad leadership’ and other highlights of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing
The resumption on Monday of the Senate blue ribbon committee’s inquiry into the corruption scandal was marked by disclosures and denials, including Manuel Bonoan’s claim that he was unaware of and did not benefit from multibillion-peso “allocables” or kickbacks during his three-year watch as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Senators...