Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. recalled a "precedent" set by the Senate nearly 15 years ago amid the imminent initiation of impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Abante, an endorser of the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Duterte, pointed to the case of the late former Supreme Court (SC) chief justice Renato Corona as proof that accountability mechanisms hinge on compliance to constitutional requirements, such as the truthful execution of one's statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

“During the time of Chief Justice Corona, isa lang naman nakapag-convict sa kanya (he was convicted because of just one offense)…He was not able to declare all his assets in his SALN,” Abante said.

In 2012, the senators sitting as an impeachment court voted 20–3 to convict Corona under article II of the articles of impeachment for culpable violation of the Constitution, due to his failure to declare $2 million and P80 million in deposits in his SALN.

This resulted to Corona's removal as SC chief justice, after he was successfully impeached by the House of Representatives.

The House impeached Vice President Duterte on Feb. 5, 2025, but a Senate impeachment trial wasn't immediately held. In the end, the Supreme Court (SC) declared the 2025 impeachment complaint against Duterte as unconstitutional.

For this year, there are already four verified and endorsed impeachment raps against the second highest official of the land.

Abante noted that the complaint that he endorsed with Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V included allegations on the “failure to truthfully and fully declare assets, liabilities and net worth".

For the Manila legislator, the impeachment proceedings—while political in nature—must ultimately be anchored on proof, in connection woth the articles of impeachment.

“The impeachment proceeding is a political… but it is about evidence, it’s about facts. If there’s enough evidence, there’s enough facts and there’s enough evidence to warrant the impeachment of the vice president so be it," he said.

Abante stressed that the process should not be reduced to partisan maneuvering, and that the House members and senators must weigh the evidence presented.