Youth leaders who are among the 74 individuals who filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte gathered on January 23 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman to formally launch the Leaders and Advocates of the Youth for the Accountability of Sara Duterte (LAYAS Duterte) Network. They urged youth councils, publications and organizations to be part of the network.

The network laid down four calls. First is to push for Duterte’s impeachment for misuse of public funds, primarily confidential funds, and her brazen attempt at deceiving the people by presenting fake documents and not attending hearings.

Second, the network is pushing for Congress’s swift action on the impeachment complaint they filed as early as December 2024. They said, this should be discussed before the start of the mid-term elections.

Third, they called for the abolition of the government’s confidential funds. They said that using confidential funds as a wellspring of corruption in all agencies should be investigated and stopped, and instead be allocated to social services.

And fourth, they demanded that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be held accountable as the corruption-ridden government’s chief. “He should be investigated and held accountable for his use and promotion of confidential funds, unprogrammed appropriations and other corruption-prone funds,” the network said.

“The Filipino people must rise united in our fight for a government that values transparency, accountability and proper governance. Our future is at risk, and the time of action is now,” according to the LAYAS Duterte Network.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel attended the network’s activity. He is among three Makabayan Bloc legistalors in Congress who endorsed the impeachment complaint.

Up to the present, the three impeachment complaints filed by various groups remain idle at the office of the Congress general secretary. It has not yet been sent to House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s office to move the process forward in accordance with the constitution.