VP Duterte flags ‘budget-driven’ ouster maneuver as 2026 spending talks loom

VICE-PRESIDENT (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday said she is ready to respond to allegations in a potential impeachment complaint, but described any move to remove her as a “budget-driven” maneuver, coming as lawmakers prepare to finalize the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.

In a statement, she accused legislators of using the budget as leverage to secure support for her impeachment, recalling last year’s process in which she alleged a pay-for-sign scheme influenced votes during the 2025 budget’s finalization.

“The impeachment complaint against me was never really driven by principle but by price,” she said. “I have always stood ready to answer any allegation grounded in fact and truth.”

The vice-president’s conflict with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — once a close ally — escalated into a political feud last year, culminating in her impeachment by the House of Representatives, where most members are aligned with the Marcos administration.

Ms. Duterte is the first Vice-President in Philippine history to be impeached. Her Senate trial, which would have determined whether she could be removed from office and barred from public service for life, was aborted after the Supreme Court voided the proceedings.

She faced multiple allegations, ranging from budget anomalies to plotting the assassination of Mr. Marcos, his wife and his cousin, a former Speaker. Ms. Duterte has denied all wrongdoing.

The high court barred any impeachment filings against her until Feb. 6, 2026, but groups seeking her removal have indicated plans to lodge complaints once the restriction is lifted.

“Its timing reveals a pattern that has become all too familiar,” Ms. Duterte said, asserting that the constitutional mechanism is being “dangled once again as a bargaining chip” just before approval of the 2026 national budget.

Lawmakers are expected to finalize discussions on the spending plan in the coming days, with a joint congressional conference likely later this week to reconcile House and Senate versions before sending it to the President for review and signature.

Ms. Duterte said some legislators had already disclosed attempts to solicit impeachment endorsements in exchange for budget allocations. “I cannot remain silent while the impeachment process is being twisted into a budget-driven racket.”

The Vice-President was impeached after 215 lawmakers endorsed the complaint, surpassing the one-third legal threshold to transmit charges directly to the Senate without hearings.

Ms. Duterte criticized the lack of follow-up on alleged misuse of public funds, saying: “Despite such revelations, no inquiry or investigation was conducted to hold anyone accountable for the billions of pesos squandered on political warfare.”

Historically, few Philippine officials have faced impeachment. Former President Joseph Estrada in 2000, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in 2011, Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011 and Election commissioner Juan Andres Bautista in 2017 were among them.

Mr. Estrada’s trial was aborted amid political turmoil, Mr. Corona was convicted, and Ms. Gutierrez and Mr. Bautista resigned before proceedings concluded. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio