(Bloomberg) -- Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte expressed doubts on Wednesday on getting enough support among legislators to fight impeachment complaints filed against her, saying the process is a “political activity.”
“We’re not confident with numbers because impeachment is a legal process and a political activity,” Duterte told a news briefing, when asked if she has enough support from lawmakers to dodge moves to oust her.
Duterte is facing two impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives, filed last week by separate progressive groups. The first alleges corruption, bribery and other crimes, while the second accuses her of betraying public trust over alleged misuse of public funds. The vice president said she’s expecting a third impeachment complaint to be filed.
She and her lawyers have read copies of the complaints and said “we’re starting preparatory work right now.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has largely distanced himself from attempts to unseat Duterte. Their powerful political clans have been embroiled in a public feud that risks causing political instability in one of the region’s fastest-growing economies.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Duterte declined to disclose details on how her office spent confidential funds, citing security considerations. But she maintained that the funds were approved by other government agencies, and that she was not involved in the preparation of acknowledgement receipts being questioned by some lawmakers.
Impeachment complaints can be filed by anyone in the Southeast Asian country and at least a third of the House of Representatives needs to approve it for it to move to the Senate, which tries and decides them. Marcos allies control more than 80% of the House, but analysts say they might not have the required two-thirds support in the Senate particularly ahead of midterm elections in May.
The vice president is also being probed separately by state investigators for her apparent threat to have Marcos killed if she’s assassinated. The head of the National Bureau of Investigation said the agency will proceed with probing Duterte’s threat after she failed to appear for questioning for a second time earlier on Wednesday.
Duterte said she’s expecting the NBI probe to progress into cases. She said these cases and the impeachment petitions are all attempts to unseat her and weaken her chances in the 2028 presidential elections should she decide to run.
“These are all directed to remove me from the race and remove me from office,” the vice president said.
--With assistance from Ditas Lopez and Cliff Venzon.
(Adds more Duterte comments and details throughout.)
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