ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Makabayan to file new impeachment complaint vs VP Sara after lapse of ban

Makabayan to file new impeachment complaint vs VP Sara after lapse of ban

Published Jan 26, 2026 01:04 pm

At A Glance

  • Former Gabriela Party-list Rep. Liza Maza confirmed on Monday morning, Jan. 26 that the Makabayan bloc will file a fresh impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte next month.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Former Gabriela Party-list Rep. Liza Maza confirmed on Monday morning, Jan. 26 that the Makabayan bloc will file a fresh impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte next month.
Maza made the announcement Monday even as militant groups filed an impeachment complaint against President Marcos.
"Gusto naming i-anunsiyo na next week, magfa-file kami, or magrere-file ng impeachment complaint laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte (We would like to announce that next week, we will be filing or re-filing an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte)," she said in a chance interview
Asked about the details of the complaint, Maza said they would "announce it as soon as it is finalized. But it will be next week."
When it was pointed out that a new impeachment complaint can't be filed against Duterte until Feb. 6, a Friday, the ex-congresswoman clarified, "I-aannounce namin kung kailangan ang eksaktong date kami magfa-file (We will announce if it is necessary to specify the exact date when we will file)."
An impeachment complaint against an impeachable official must be received by the House secretary general. The secretary general's office is normally closed on Fridays.
During the 19th Congress, Duterte became the first Vice President to ever be impeached in the country’s history when over one-third of House members adopted in plenary an impeachment complaint against her.
The complaint, anchored on seven articles of impeachment, was directly submitted to the Senate on Feb. 5, 2025.
Later in July, the SC declared the complaint unconstitutional, even as the House waited on the Senate to carry out Duterte's impeachment trial. The House subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration (MR).
The proceedings have been left in limbo since only one impeachment complaint can be "initiated" against a particular official per year. As far as the Vice President is concerned, this one-year prohibition will lapse on Feb. 6.
Maza and the rest of the militants don't plan to waste any time.
'Nakakahiya?'
Essentially, the Makabayan bloc and its allied groups are seeking the impeachment of the country's top two officials. If it prospers in the House of Representatives, an impeachment rap will get transmitted to the Senate, which would then get tasked to carry out an impeachment trial against the concerned official.
Senate President President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III commented on this potential double impeachment scenario over the weekend.
"Sana naman huwag ano. Dahil nakakahiya sa mundo… Nevertheless, paghahandaan natin kung sakali. Ako naman, ready ako (I hope that's not the case. Because it will be embarrassing to the world...Nevertheless, we will prepare for it. As for me, I'm ready),” he said. 
Maza didn't agree with Sotto's remarks. "Siguro mas nakakahiya kung dalawa nating pinakamataas na pinuno ng ating bansa ay corrupt (Perhaps it is more shameful if the two highest leaders of our country are corrupt)."
"Mas nakakahiya yun, kesa ang mamamayan ay sumusulong...at [hino-hold] our government officials accountable para doon sa corruption. Mas nakakahiya po yun para sa amin (That is far more embarrassing than the people moving forward and holding our government officials accountable for corruption. For us, that would be the greater shame)," she added.
Sotto will become the presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court once it convenes.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.