The distribution of House Committee Report (CR) No. 261 among congressmen and its subsequent uploading to the House of Representatives website Wednesday, May 6 means that the 2026 articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte is now free for everybody to dissect and discuss.

Here's a deeper look into the four articles of impeachment that--depending on the House members' appreciation of the nearly 100-page report--could lead to the Vice President’s second impeachment in as many years, as well as a potential conviction in a Senate trial.

The article said Duterte, after taking her oath as vice president on June 19, 2022 and formally assuming office on June 30, 2022, also became DepEd secretary on the same day, giving her authority over two offices with access to confidential funds governed by rules on disbursement, documentation and accountability.

“At the very outset of her tenure, although the conduct of surveillance activities was not part of the mandate of her office, respondent sought access to confidential funds, requesting substantial allocations for the Office of the Vice President (‘OVP’),” Article I stated.

It said Duterte’s request was only partially granted and toward the latter part of 2022, but she allegedly “proceeded to fully exhaust the amount released within an extraordinarily compressed period".

In December 2022, the OVP received P125 million in confidential funds for the fourth quarter. “In a span of 11 days—from December 21 to December 31, 2022—respondent caused the entire amount to be disbursed and reported as fully utilized, despite the inclusion of several non-working holidays, rendering ordinary timelines implausible,” the article stated.

“This rapid and total liquidation of a substantial amount of confidential funds—within a timeframe that renders genuine implementation and verification highly improbable—indicates that the disbursements were pre-arranged, simulated, or otherwise irregular,” it added.

The article also cited a Commission on Audit (COA)-flagged transaction involving around P16 million reportedly disbursed for “safe house rentals” within the same 11-day period in 2022.

“Based on audit observations, certain rental arrangements reached as high as Php250,000.00 per day—rates comparable to, and even exceeding, that of some luxury resorts and five-star hotel accommodations—raising serious questions on necessity, reasonableness, and purpose relative to confidential fund standards,” Article I stated.

The article said the same pattern allegedly continued in 2023 with the release and utilization of P375 million in confidential funds for the OVP and P112.5 million for DepEd.

“All of which were similarly marked by deficient documentation, questionable purposes, and unverifiable outcomes,” it stated.

The article also cited the COA, through its Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, as having verified that Duterte’s offices received a total of P500 million for the OVP and P112.5 million for DepEd, “all of which were reported as fully exhausted".

The article cited Article XI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution and provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 6713 and RA No. 3019, which required public officials to declare SALN and business interests.

“In violation of the foregoing and other relevant laws, respondent amassed unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income, which was not fully and truthfully disclosed in her SALN for the years when she was a public official,” Article II stated.

The article traced Duterte’s public service beginning with her election as vice mayor of Davao City in 2007, followed by her terms as mayor and eventually vice president in 2022.

According to Article II, Duterte’s estimated total salary income from 2007 to 2024 as vice mayor, mayor and vice president was “approximately Php30,000,000.00".

The article said Duterte also declared various companies and business interests in her SALNs, including Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, Gencorp Industries, Carpio Lawyers, 888 Bistro, CALE88 Foods Corp., Madayaw Fisheries Corp., Mati City Ice Plant and Cold Storage Inc., Amianan Shores Inc., Geometry Security and Investigation Agency Inc., Cabletow 88 Shipping and Marine Services Inc., Royal Taipan Corp., Davao Bounty Times Food Corp., SGT Fortune Horse Corp., CYKT Inc., 3 Kids Inc. and Zelta Matiem Salon, among others.

“The Audited Financial Statements (‘AFS’) of companies where respondent and her spouse have business interests (as stated in respondent’s SALNs) show that the combined income and losses of the corporations resulted in a net loss,” Article II stated.

“Thus, the estimated total salary income of respondent from 2007 to 2024 remains at approximately Php30,000,000.00, or even less, if the losses incurred by these corporations are considered,” it added.

The article said Duterte’s declared net worth in her SALNs rose from P7,250,497 in 2007 to P88,512,370.22 in 2024. “From 2007 to 2024, the net worth of respondent and her spouse rose from Php7,250,497.00 to Php88,512,370.22, or a total increase of around Php80,000,000.00."

“However, as shown earlier, the lawful income of respondent and her spouse for the same period only amounts to roughly Php30,000,000.00. The difference between their lawful income of Php30,000,000.00 and the increase in their net worth of around Php80,000,000.00, resulting in a disparity of approximately Php50,000,000.00, clearly constitutes unexplained wealth,” the article added.

The article said the disparity became “even more staggering” when compared against records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

“Official records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (‘AMLC’) show that billions of pesos were deposited in accounts associated with respondent and her spouse from 2007 to 2024,” it stated.

“The AMLC flagged a total amount of at least Php6.7 Billion as covered or suspicious transactions; of this aggregate amount, around Php4.4 Billion was identified as inflow transactions and roughly Php1.5 Billion was identified as outflow transactions,” it noted.

“The magnitude of these transactions demonstrates that the billions of pesos flowing through the accounts of respondent and her spouse cannot be reconciled with their declared lawful income, particularly, respondent’s total salary income of just approximately Php30,000,000.00,” Article II said.

“The amount of funds acquired and owned by respondent and her spouse deposited in various bank accounts totaling billions of pesos are manifestly disproportionate to their lawful income and are thereby presumed, under the law, as unlawfully acquired or ill-gotten wealth,” it added.

The article alleged that DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, who was designated as Head of Procuring Entity (HOPE) in February 2023, received nine envelopes containing P50,000 in cash labeled “HOPE” between February and September 2023.

The envelopes were allegedly handed repeatedly by DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, who supposedly told Mercado the money came from Duterte.

“The circumstances under which the envelopes were given indicate that they were intended to influence her decision as HOPE, as the official responsible for approving all the decisions of the Bids and Awards Committee on behalf of the DepEd Secretary,” the article stated.

The article further alleged that when Mercado refused the request of Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac, described as a close associate of Duterte, to disregard procurement rules, she was urged by then vice presidential chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez to tender her resignation.

It also cited DepEd Director IV Resty Osias, who allegedly received four envelopes containing P12,000 to P15,000 in cash from Fajarda between April and September 2023, when DepEd still had access to confidential funds.

DepEd Chief Accountant Runna Catalan, meanwhile, allegedly received nine envelopes containing P25,000 each from Fajarda in 2023, with the amounts supposedly represented as allowances from Duterte.

“Such ‘allowances’ were never given prior to the release of the confidential funds, indicating a direct link between the availability of the confidential funds and the distribution of these monetary benefits,” the article stated.

The article said the testimonies of Mercado, Osias and Catalan before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability established that during Duterte’s tenure as DepEd secretary, Fajarda allegedly distributed money in envelopes while expressly representing that the funds originated from Duterte, to influence officials to act in accordance with her directives, particularly on procurement and financial approvals.

It said Duterte’s alleged acts constituted corruption of public officials in relation to direct bribery under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) by “giving or causing the giving of monetary inducements to public officials in connection with the performance of their official duties".

The article further alleged that the acts also constituted graft and corrupt practices under RA No. 3019, as Duterte allegedly induced and influenced public officers to commit procurement law violations resulting in undue injury to the government and the grant of unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference.

The article also accused Duterte of betrayal of public trust, saying Mercado’s testimony that her refusal to compromise procurement rules led to an immediate demand for her resignation by Duterte’s chief of staff revealed “a pattern of administrative weaponization".

“Using public funds to bribe officials, and subsequently punishing those who exhibit integrity, is a gross perversion of the Vice Presidency,” the article stated.

The article further accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, specifically Article XI, Section 1, which mandates that public officers “must, at all times, be accountable to the people and serve them with utmost responsibility and integrity".

At the center of this article was Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 online media briefing, where she publicly declared that she had spoken to a person and instructed him to kill the country’s top officials if she were killed.

“[M]ay kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM (Bongbong Marcos) si Liza Araneta at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke. Nag-bilin na ako ma’am. Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila and then he said yes,” Duterte said.

(I already spoke to someone. I told him that if I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke. I already gave instructions, ma’am. If I die, I said, do not stop until you kill them, and then he said yes.)

The article described Duterte’s conduct as “a radical and dangerous departure from the constitutional duties of the Vice Presidency".

It said the statement gained traction locally and internationally, prompting the Executive Secretary to refer the active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action, while the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted an investigation at the directive of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Article IV added that the NBI confirmed that threats against the life of the President were treated “with the highest degree of urgency by law enforcement agencies” and are considered “matters of the gravest national concern".

Three days later, on Nov. 26, 2024, Duterte allegedly reiterated and confirmed in an interview that she had indeed talked to a person to carry out the act.

“Pag namatay ako, I already asked a person to take revenge two, three individuals. So. My question now to the administration - is revenge from the grave a crime?” Duterte said.

(If I die, I already asked a person to take revenge on two, three individuals. So my question now to the administration is—Is revenge from the grave a crime?)

Asked if she had already talked to a person to carry it out in the event she was killed, Duterte replied: “Yes, yes, yes.”

“The fact that respondent contracted an assassin no longer requires further proof, as it is already an established matter in light of her own public admissions,” the article stated.

The article said Duterte neither retracted nor denied the statements and instead defended the alleged assassination plot by claiming it was conditional on her death. However, it noted that the alleged condition “does not negate the fact of an unlawful agreement or solicitation” and that the act of contracting an assassin itself constituted “direct and compelling evidence” of intent and participation in the unlawful act.

The article also accused Duterte of grave threats, and said her public declaration that she contracted an assassin constituted “an independently punishable offense under the law".

It further accused Duterte of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection, as her acts and those of her family showed the Nov. 23, 2024 threat “was not an isolated incident, nor a one-time emotional meltdown".