The Committee on Justice of Congress voted 53-0 on April 29 declaring that the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has “probable cause” or sufficient basis. The vote followed more than two months of committee deliberations.

Congress used as basis the second and third filed impeachment complaints, which it consolidated into the following articles:

1) grave threats/assassination plot: This covers Duterte’s public threats of killing or having someone kill Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife Liza, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
2) misuse and malversation of confidential funds: This includes the illegal and improper use of ₱612.5 million in confidential/intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she served as department secretary.
3) unexplained wealth/suspicious bank transactions: This includes exposed transactions across different banks amounting to ₱6.7 billion linked to Duterte and her husband Mans Carpio. The transactions were confirmed in the records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Congress is set to vote on the complaint in plenary on May 11. If one-third of congressmen vote in favor, it will be formally transmitted to the Senate for trial. On the Senate side, its president Tito Sotto pledged to act immediately on the complaint once it reaches the Senate. This contrasts with former Senate president Chiz Escudero, who stalled the complaint until it was eventually dismissed in 2025.

The Makabayan Bloc, among those that actively pushed for the impeachment, welcomed the committee’s decision. On the day of the vote, members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, and other organizations protested to demand accountability from Duterte for plundering public funds.