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

The Makabayan bloc solons, who endorsed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, launched a signature drive on Thursday, Dec. 5, in a bid tto hasten the transmittal of the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives to the Senate.

As indicated in the Constitution, one-third of the members of the House of Representatives—or 106 to be specific—can sign as direct complainants of the impeachment rap.

This removes the rigorous route an impeachment complaint needs to go through, which includes hearings by the House Committee on Justice and other tedious legislative processes.

The progressive Makabayan, composed of ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel, is relying on the signature drive among House members to speed up the proceedings.

As of Thursday, Congress only has six session days left until it goes on its holiday recess. And with the upcoming 2025 midterm elections, session days next year would be limited to between Jan. 13 and Feb. 7.

“We urge our colleagues in Congress to act with integrity and political courage by supporting this impeachment resolution,” Makabayan said in a statement.

“During the budget deliberations, the misuse of confidential funds in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was exposed. It is now up to the House of Representatives to fulfill its constitutional duty to hold erring public officials accountable,” the group added.

Buoyed by 72 complainants from various sectors, Makabayan endorsed on Wednesday an impeachment complaint that accused Vice President Sara Duterte of betrayal of public trust. If proven, it would unseat the country’s second top official.

The complaint identified the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s term as secretary.

The Makabayan bloc pointed out that this supposed misuse of taxpayers' money was a “grave insult to the Filipino people”.

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Second impeachment complaint filed vs VP Sara

“This is not just about numbers. It is about the integrity of public service and the trust of the people. Sara Duterte must be held accountable for betraying the public’s trust,” said Manuel.

With this, Makabayan is urging Filipinos to pressure their respective district representatives to sign the impeachment resolution.

“To our fellow Filipinos: Let us not allow this issue to be swept under the rug,” they said.

The militant lawmakers are likewise calling on the Senate to prepare for an impartial and transparent trial. 

“This impeachment process is a critical test of our commitment to justice and accountability for the highest public officials. Let this serve as a strong message that no one, not even the Vice President, is above the law,” said Castro, a deputy minority leader.