Progressive groups and civil society leaders filed new impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte on February 2, 2026, after the Supreme Court ruled that the one-year bar lapsed on January 15. The accusations center on betrayal of public trust through alleged misuse of confidential funds. Duterte's camp stated they are prepared to face the charges and confident they will collapse under scrutiny.
On February 2, 2026, the Makabayan bloc filed the first new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte with the House of Representatives' Office of the Secretary General. It was signed by 45 individuals from organizations advocating for marginalized sectors, accusing her of betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during her time as secretary.
A second complaint followed from 17 individuals, including priests, relatives of extrajudicial killing victims, and urban poor leaders, endorsed by Rep. Perci Cendaña of Akbayan and Rep. Leila de Lima of ML. Cendaña told reporters, 'This is not a recycled complaint, because to this day, VP Sara Duterte has yet to personally respond to the cases of corruption, abuse of power, and theft from the public treasury.' The complaint lists five articles and includes the affidavit of Ramil Madriaga, who claimed he acted as Duterte's bagman delivering large sums of confidential funds and that her 2022 campaign was financed by proceeds from the illegal drug trade and banned Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
The Supreme Court, in its January 28, 2026 resolution, ruled that the one-year bar began on January 14, 2025, as the House failed to process the initial complaints within 10 session days—now interpreted as calendar days of session. Lawyer Michael Poa, speaking for Duterte's defense, said, 'The filing of new impeachment complaints against the Vice President comes as no surprise,' adding they are prepared to address the allegations through constitutional processes and confident they lack factual and legal basis.
The filings coincide with the House justice committee's hearings on impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., amid a volatile political landscape in the 20th Congress, where Duterte is a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential elections. It remains uncertain if enough support can be mustered for impeachment to proceed.