After spending almost a month in The Hague, the Netherlands, Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio returned to the Philippines just before the long Holy Week break, ready to face her impending impeachment trial to be held by the Senate.
The VP had gone to The Hague, where her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was placed under arrest by the International Criminal Court pending his trial for crimes against humanity following the alleged mass murder of thousands of mostly poor, young Filipino men suspected of drug pushing.
Duterte-Carpio said upon her return that the defense of her father had been organized and that family members would take turns visiting him.
She said she was “excited” to be back and was ready to face the Senate acting as impeachment court.
Despite what members of the House of Representative said was strong evidence linking Duterte-Carpio to the misuse of more than PHP600 million in intelligence and confidential funds.
The Office of the Vice President issued a statement saying Duterte-Carpio “is expected to address any pertinent matters in the coming days.”
The VP was greeted with both good news and bad news.
For one, a recent survey showed that her popularity had risen substantially in her absence, even as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. saw a big drop in his.
On the other hand, the House released a new list of supposed recipients of confidential funds from the OVP and a good number were suspicious, to say the least.
House leaders said most were made-up names, including the likes of Honeylet Camille Sy, which resembles the name of her father’s common law partner Honeylet Avancena; three “Fionas” but with different spellings like “Feona Biong,” “Fiona Ranitez,” and “Feonna Villegas,” an Erwin Ewan as well as Ellen Magellan.
She had earlier listed a recipient named Mary Grace Piattos, which is a combination of a popular bake shop and a potato-based chip snack.
A check with the Philippine Statistics Authority found that the majority of the recipients did not have birth, death, or even school records.
House Deputy Majority Leader Francisco Paolo Ortega V said: “What we are sure of is those with fictitious names didn’t receive (money). They might have only been used to bloat the list (of recipients).”
Ortega said most of the questions would only be answered during Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial.
The VP has faced the House quad committee but did not provide any meaningful answers regarding her use of confidential funds, either as vice-president or as Education secretary.
Ortega said her impeachment could have been avoided had she given straight answers to the questions of the House committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
The impeachment trial will be held immediately after the president delivers his annual State of the Nation Address.
Her fate hinges more on the composition of the next Senate and the 12 newly-elected (or re-elected) senators who will join the 12 lawmakers whose terms have not yet expired.
While the trial is supposed to determine her innocence or guilt, it is expected that most senators will vote to impeach or acquit her by voting along party lines.
If impeached, Duterte-Carpio may also be banned from running for public office in the future, putting a damper on her previously announced plan to run for president in 2028.
