House Secretary General Reginald Velasco (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB)

The three existing impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte have now been dubbed as "verified" by the House of Representatives' legal department. 

This was shared to reporters Friday, Jan. 10 by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco amid questions on when the impeachment proceedings against the lady official would actually begin.

“So far naman itong tatlo (So far these three complaints), they constitute verified complaint based on the evaluation of the legal department. Ang talagang hinihintay na lang natin (What we're really waiting for is) if there will be any new complaint,” Velasco said in an interview. 

For weeks now, the secretary general has been saying that certain majority congressmen have been intending to file and endorse a fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte. 

This is a big deal, since all three existing impeachment complaints have only been endorsed by solons from the minority bloc. When it comes to voting in plenary, the majority bloc will always have the numbers to see a measure through. 

A third of the 307 members of the House of Representatives is needed to impeach Vice President Duterte.

House rules require the secretary general to transmit the filed and duly endorsed impeachment complaints to the Office of the House Speaker, which will then submit the raps to the poweful Committee on Rules.

“By next week hopefully they'll make a decision already. I will talk to them," Velasco said about the unnamed majority solons.

"Anyway, the session will resume Monday so I hope to see them personally and talk with them,” he said.

Monday, Jan. 13 marks the return of plenary sessions in the House of Representatives after the month-long holiday recess.

“Hopefully by next week, we will be able to resolve this with the members, with the House members who have expressed interest in either endorsing a complaint or filing a new complaint. So hopefully by next week, we'll be able to resolve together with them,” he added.