Time constraint may have saved Vice President Sara Duterte from being removed from office via impeachment.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability said there are “definitely” grounds to impeach Duterte.

However, Chua admitted that the timing makes it challenging, saying that the impeachment is “reasonable but may not be possible.”

“Kung tatanungin po sa akin kung may grounds for impeachment, definitely meron po. Ngayon, kung ito po ay magpo-proceed sa impeachment, it’s a very challenging question dahil alam naman po natin iyong sitwasyon natin ngayon,” Chua told a DZBB radio interview.

He was apparently referring to the oncoming political season that will cut short legislative proceedings in both the Lower and Upper Houses.

The current Congress is left with only about 25 sessions to act on an impeachment case against any impeachable officer, including Duterte.

The political campaign season is also expected to add further burden in resolving impeachment cases.

“By next year, simula na po ng kampanya. So medyo hindi ko po alam kung ito po ay posible,” Chua explained.



Duterte has been under fire in the Lower House in connection with accusations that PHP 612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds allocated to her office had been mismanaged.



House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose M. Dalipe accused Duterte of resorting to “calculated strategy of evasion and deflection” in her bid to avoid accountability in the alleged misuse of the CIF.

“Huwag kang pa-victim. Tama na ang pambubudol. The Vice President should stop using her staff as human shields. It is about time she face Congress, answer the questions and stop blaming others for her failures and fear of accountability,” Dalipe said.

Dalipe dismissed Duterte’s remarks as “yet another budol tactic from the Vice President.”

“The Vice President has been hiding while letting her staff take the heat. This is pure cowardice disguised as victimhood,” Dalipe added.

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, also known as the House Blue Ribbon Committee, has conducted six hearings to investigate the questionable use of confidential funds by the OVP and DepEd.

Despite the gravity of the issue, Vice President Duterte has attended only once—during the first hearing—where she refused to take an oath, read a prepared statement, and left without addressing inquiries from lawmakers.

“After six hearings, why has she refused to appear again? Instead, she sends career officials who have no personal knowledge of how these funds were used,” Dalipe pointed out.