Vice President Sara Duterte (Santi San Juan/MANILA BULLETIN)

Vice President Sara Duterte faced on Wednesday, Dec. 4, a second impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives in just three days, filed by various sectoral groups including former congressmen and human rights victims.

Led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the 75 complainants sought Vice President Duterte's impeachment on  ground of betrayal of public trust.

Specifically, the complaint cited Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her term as secretary.

It also identified the “systematic cover-up” of the fund misuse through anomalous documents submitted before the Commission on Audit (COA) and the alleged “deliberate obstruction” of congressional investigation and oversight.

In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Bayan Chairperson Teddy Casiño accused Duterte of betraying the trust afforded to her as the country’s second top official.

“At dahil dito, karapat-dapat lamang na matanggal siya sa pwesto at huwag nang payagan na humawak ng anumang pwesto sa gobyerno,” said Casiño.

(And because of this, she deserves to be removed from office and not be allowed to hold any position in the government.)

Casiño, a former congressman under Bayan Muna Party-list, likewise urged Congress to act swiftly on their impeachment complaint.

“The Filipino people, especially our taxpayers who bear the burden of funding government operations, deserve accountability from their second highest official," he added.

House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco officially received the second impeachment complaint at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. He shall transmit the complaint to the Office of the Speaker.

The impeachment complaint was endorsed by the members of the Makabayan bloc, namely ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel.

Brosas, an assistant minority leader, claimed that the complaint against Duterte was “sufficient in form and substance”.

She said the hearings by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability revealed that the Vice President had “full knowledge and authority” of the disbursement, utilization, and reporting of the confidential funds under scrutiny.

“Kaya sinasabi natin, it’s about time na umaksyon ang Kongreso kaugnay dito,” noted Brosas.

(That's why we say, it's about time that Congress takes action on this.)

Meanwhile, Manuel said that Duterte almost “cheated her way out” of the alleged misuse of funds by submitting fabricated documents.

He specifically cited the case of the mysterious signatory, “Mary Grace Piattos”, who allegedly signed an acknowledgment receipt for the OVP.

The name trended in social media after netizens noticed that it’s an amalgamation of the name of a Filipino restaurant chain and a local potato chips brand. 

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed on Tuesday that no such name exists based on their records.

“Isang malaking cheater at taksil si Sara Duterte (Sara Duterte is a big cheater and traitor), she clearly betrayed whatever trust remains in her,” said Manuel.

“Sabi nga, time is ultimate truth teller. That also applies to Sara Duterte, lumabas na ang katotohanan kahit pilit niyang tinatago kung ano man ang kaniyang ginawa,” he added.

(As they say, time is the ultimate truth teller. That also applies to Sara Duterte, the truth has come out even though she is trying to hide whatever she did.)

On Monday, various civil society groups led by former senator Leila de Lima filed the first impeachment complaint against Duterte.

The grounds for the first impeachment complaint were culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, birbery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. It was endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña.