MANILA – Progressive groups behind the first two impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte in 2024 have returned to the House of Representatives to refile their cases after the one-year bar expired.

In a report, the Makabayan bloc, which had backed the second complaint previously, was the first to refile and endorse its complaint with the Office of the Secretary General (OSG) on Monday, February 2.

The submission came from 45 individuals representing leaders and members of organizations advocating for marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

The complaint cited betrayal of public trust as the sole ground for impeachment, specifically pointing to Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as secretary.

A second impeachment complaint was filed shortly after by the group that originally filed the first complaint against Duterte. Seventeen individuals, including priests, relatives of extrajudicial killing victims, urban poor leaders, and other civil society representatives, filed the complaint. It was endorsed by Reps. Perci Cendaña (Akbayan) and Leila de Lima (ML).

“Hindi ito recycled complaint kasi hanggang ngayon, hindi pa sumasagot nang personal si VP Sara Duterte sa mga kaso ng katiwalian, pang-aabuso sa kapangyarihan, at pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan,” 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 second complaint lists five articles of impeachment and includes the sworn statement of Duterte’s alleged former aide, Ramil Madriaga. Madriaga claims that he acted as the vice president’s bagman, delivering large sums of confidential funds to her security aide. He also said that her 2022 campaign was financed with proceeds from the illegal drug trade and funds linked to now-banned Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

While the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling delayed Duterte’s impeachment trial, minority lawmakers emphasized that it does not absolve her of the alleged crimes.

“By filing this complaint, we hope to finally get a verdict on the charges against her,” Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Dee, one of the complainants, said in a statement.

The complaints were refiled before Feb. 6, 2026, the date originally pegged by the Supreme Court as the end of the one-year bar. The high court had ruled Duterte’s previous impeachment complaints unconstitutional because the House failed to act on them within the required 10 session days, triggering the one-year bar on new filings starting Jan. 15, 2026.

“We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes, confident that a fair and impartial review will demonstrate that the accusations are devoid of both factual and legal basis,” Duterte’s spokesperson Michael Poa said.

The House also said it is ready to handle new impeachment complaints against the vice president while it continues committee hearings on complaints filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.