Abante confident House will secure enough votes to impeach Sara Duterte
Manila City Rep. Bienvenido Abante expressed confidence that the House of Representatives has enough votes to transmit the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate for a trial. This comes after four impeachment complaints were filed against her in February.
Manila 6th District Representative Bienvenido 'Benny' Abante Jr., chair of the House Committee on Human Rights and co-chair of the Quad Committee, expressed confidence on February 21, 2026, that the House of Representatives has 'more than enough' votes to transmit the fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate for trial. Abante made these statements during a media forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, countering skepticism from House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor about the complaint's chances of advancing beyond the justice committee. The congressman outlined the expected procedural path: the complaint would first be referred by the Committee on Rules to the Committee on Justice for 2-3 days of deliberations, followed by a plenary vote requiring one-third approval (approximately 106 votes) from the 316-member chamber to transmit the case to the Senate.
The fourth impeachment complaint was filed by lawyer Nathaniel G. Cabrera and endorsed by Abante and Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V on February 18, 2026. It accuses Vice President Duterte of multiple offenses including constitutional violations, betrayal of public trust, graft, corruption, bribery, high crimes, failure to disclose assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), and amassing unexplained wealth. The complaint was received by the House Secretary General's office and transmitted to Speaker Faustino 'Bojie' Dy III's office on February 19, 2026, making it the fourth pending impeachment complaint against Duterte.
Abante referenced strong historical support for impeachment proceedings against Duterte, noting that the first impeachment complaint in 2025 had garnered 215 House endorsements before the Supreme Court invalidated it on July 25, 2025, for violating the constitutional ban on multiple impeachments within a year. The House's motion for reconsideration of that decision was subsequently dismissed on January 29, 2026. This legal history provides context for Abante's confidence in securing sufficient votes for the current complaint.
The impeachment developments come amid Vice President Duterte's recent announcement of her 2028 presidential bid, which some lawmakers view as a potential distraction from the ongoing impeachment proceedings. The complaint alleges that Duterte's actions 'strike at the very heart of public trust' and that accountability in her current role as vice president remains paramount regardless of her future political ambitions. As of February 21, 2026, no plenary vote has occurred yet, with the process awaiting committee action and scheduling by House leadership before proceeding to the crucial vote that would determine whether the case advances to the Senate for trial.
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