VICE President Sara Z. Duterte may continue facing separate criminal, civil, and administrative cases even after the conclusion of her impeachment trial, according to the House prosecution team.
House prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan explained that an impeachment proceeding is separate from other legal actions and does not prevent agencies such as the Office of the Ombudsman from pursuing cases based on the same allegations. She said impeachment is considered sui generis, meaning it has its own nature and process, allowing criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings to continue alongside it.
Kapunan made the statement in response to questions regarding complaints filed against Duterte before the Ombudsman involving alleged misuse of public funds.
Several complaints have been filed against the Vice President, including a December 2025 complaint by a group that included former Finance undersecretary Maria Cielo Magno involving alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds. Another complaint was later filed in January 2026 by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and civil society group The Silent Majority.
‘The impeachment trial is separate; it is what we call sui generis [a proceeding unique in nature]. A criminal case, a civil case, or an administrative case may proceed alongside it,’ Kapunan said during an online press briefing.
She emphasized that impeachment has a different purpose and standard of evidence compared with criminal cases. She explained that criminal cases require proof beyond reasonable doubt, while impeachment cases require ‘clear and convincing evidence.’
House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers said that Duterte’s legal challenges would not automatically end after the impeachment trial. He explained that other proceedings may continue depending on the facts and evidence presented in separate cases. According to Barbers, the main issue before the Senate Impeachment Court is whether Duterte should remain in office based on the evidence presented during the trial.
Pattern
OFFICIAL House records submitted to the Senate Impeachment Court reportedly show what prosecutors described as a pattern of withholding information and resisting congressional scrutiny regarding Duterte’s confidential funds. Barbers pointed to the Office of the Vice President’s non-participation in the 2024 House inquiry and its efforts to prevent the release of documents requested by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Barbers said these actions reflected a lack of transparency and cooperation during the congressional investigation. The Senate Impeachment Court recently took judicial notice of official House records from the 2024 inquiry after Duterte’s defense team agreed to their custody and submission.
Among the records was an August 21, 2024 letter from then-OVP Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez to Commission on Commission on Audit Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba, which prosecutors said discouraged compliance with a House subpoena seeking documents from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. Also included were Duterte’s September 23, 2024 letter declining participation in committee deliberations and requesting the termination of the inquiry, as well as a November 5, 2024 position paper from Lopez, former OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta, former DepEd Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda, and others refusing to attend hearings and asking for the investigation to be stopped.
Barbers said these records showed the difficulties encountered by House investigators in obtaining documents and testimonies needed to examine the use of confidential funds. He stressed that because public funds were involved, government officials should provide clear explanations to the Filipino people.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte accuses her of alleged misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of P612.5 million in confidential funds. This includes P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President from December 2022 to September 2023 and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education in three quarters of 2023 while Duterte was serving as Education secretary.
Kapunan maintained that the Senate Impeachment Court should evaluate the case based on the evidence presented during the proceedings, saying, ‘Let us follow the evidence.’