MANILA – The impeachment complaint filed last year against Vice President Sara Duterte may be refiled “as is,” House Committee on Public Accounts chairperson Terry Ridon said.

Ridon said the Supreme Court’s ruling, reaffirmed last week, which declared the Articles of Impeachment against the vice president unconstitutional, does not affect the substance of the case.

“Oo, pwede po i-file as is po ‘yan sa totoo lang kasi wala naman hong debate sa form, wala pong debate sa substansya,” Ridon said in a news forum on Saturday. (Honestly, that can be filed as is because there is no debate regarding the form, and there is no debate regarding the substance.)

He added that the facts cited in the earlier complaint remain the same.

“So in a refiling of Vice President impeachment case, I don’t think the facts have changed from last year. We’re still going to be talking about the use of confidential funds and death threats against the President, the First Lady and the former House Speaker,” Ridon said.

However, Ridon said it remains unclear if there will be additional complaints this time.

“Hindi lang ako sigurado kung may mga additional basis for an impeachment this year,” he said. (I’m just not sure if there are additional grounds for an impeachment this year.)

The Supreme Court earlier dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by the House in connection with its July 2025 ruling, which found the impeachment complaint unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule and Duterte’s right to due process. The SC affirmed that the House has the sole prerogative to initiate impeachment complaints and promulgate its rules.

To recall, three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all related to alleged misuse of confidential funds. The fourth complaint, endorsed by over one-third of House members, was transmitted to the Senate as the Articles of Impeachment.

The impeachment complaint contains seven articles against Duterte, including:

• Conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez;
• Malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• Bribery and corruption in the Department of Education, including alleged cash handouts to former DepEd officials;
• Unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, showing a fourfold increase from 2007 to 2017;
• Involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• Destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder, including boycotting the State of the Nation Address while declaring herself “designated survivor,” leading rallies calling for Marcos’ resignation, obstructing congressional investigations, and threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez;
• The totality of her conduct as the country’s second-highest official.