'House leaders cool to VP impeachment'

Abante: Complaints Can Be Refiled in Next Congress

- By JANVIC MATEO

In an interview with "Storycon" on One News yesterday, Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante said several leaders he had talked to were "more amendable" to his position against tackling the complaints before the elections or before the end of the current Congress.

He said House leaders discussed the issue yesterday.

"I don't think we should even tackle the impeachment complaints now. The fact that the election is quite near... It's better if we defer the impeachment complaint and file it in the new Congress," he said.

"We're in a quandary as to what the leadership will do about that… They’re quite cold about the impeachment complaints,” he said, referring to House leaders he had spoken with on the matter.

Abante noted that even if the House impeaches Duterte and the complaints are forwarded to the Senate, there is no certainty that senators will vote to oust her.

He hinted that the impeachment complaints may not even reach the House justice committee, which will officially trigger the impeachment process.

If the complaints reach the committee and the effort fails, it insulates Duterte for a year, or until at least the first quarter of 2026, from further impeachment moves.

But if the one-year insulation is not triggered, the impeachment effort can be revived as soon as the next Congress convenes this year.

Three impeachment complaints have been filed against Duterte over her alleged anomalous use of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under her leadership.

Abante also said the House quad committee will push through with its investigation on the alleged irregularities in some of the programs of the previous Duterte administration.

“It is not over. We still have a lot to do. Particularly, the next quad comm hearing, we might tackle the POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) issue,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.