A WEDNESDAY survey result showing that four in 10 Filipinos are in favor of ousting Vice-President (VP) Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio should press the Philippine Congress to unseat her, according to a lawyer of impeachment complainants.
In a statement sent to reporters, impeachment counsel Armando Virgil D. Ligutan said that Ms. Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds had “struck a nerve” among Filipinos, which should move lawmakers to remove her from public office.
“We reiterate our call to the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Vice-President has clearly betrayed public trust,” he said. “Until when will Congress allow the Vice-President’s unabashed betrayal of public trust [to] go unchecked?”
Ms. Duterte found herself at the center of a political controversy that has developed after the collapse of her alliance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., a union that propelled them to two of the country’s highest posts.
The estranged vice-president has been the subject of impeachment moves due to her alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds in 2022 and 2023, which she has refuted.
The Office of the Vice-President did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
“The public’s support for the impeachment of VP Sara is growing stronger,” Party-list Rep. Percival V. Cendaña, who sponsored the first impeachment complaint against Ms. Duterte, said in a separate statement in Filipino. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
