Screen grab from House session 

MANILA, Philippines – After securing 215 votes, the House of Representatives on Wednesday, February 5, has officially impeached Vice President Sara Duterte and complaints are now on their way to the Senate for trial. 

On Wednesday, it was announced that over a third of House members have signed the impeachment complaint. 

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco announced that a fourth impeachment complaint was filed and endorsed by 215 lawmakers who swore before him.

With enough signatures gathered, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez approved the motion to send the impeachment complaints against Duterte to the Senate for trial.

The following House members acted as prosecutors: 

• Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro
• Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop
• 1-Rider party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez
• Manila Rep. Joel Chua
• Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon
• General Santos City Rep. Loreto Acharon
• 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan
• Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan
• San Juan City Rep. Isabel Maria Zamora
• Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor
• Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores

The 1987 Constitution provides two ways on how an impeachment complaint would proceed. 

All impeachment complaints must be filed before the House of Representatives which will be then forwarded to the House Speaker and then to the House committee on rules and the committee on justice.

A one-third vote of House members will ensure impeachment endorsement to the Senate. 

However a quicker method is allowed by the Constitution – a one-third of all House members allows immediate convening of a Senate trial skipping the House Committee on Rules and the Committee on Justice discussions. 

All complaints against Duterte are based on her alleged misuse of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her stint as secretary. 

The inquiry of the House good government and public accountability found out that the two offices submitted  acknowledgement receipts with erroneous dates, signatories with no birth records, unnamed signatories even non-readable names of signatories as liquidation of the confidential funds to the Commission of Audit. 

Duterte has repeatedly refused to face House inquiry citing that the COA is the sole entity mandated by the Constitution to investigate confidential funds and not the House of Representatives. 

Duterte has not issued any statement yet about the rolling of impeachment complaints against her. 

Senate Secretary Renato Bantug has earlier instructed the Senate Public Information Bureau to brace for the receipt of the impeachment complaint from the House of representatives today, February 5, later in the day. 

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