THE political underground is bubbling with so much talk about the supposedly “coming” impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. Responsible officials have denied there is such a move in the House of Representatives, which has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. But the babble continues. So much smoke but no fire. Still, the Duterte camp seems convinced it is coming.

Under the Constitution, the president, the vice president, the members of the Supreme Court, the members of the constitutional commissions, and the ombudsman may be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.

A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any member of the House or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any member thereof, which shall be included in the order of business within 10 session days and referred to the proper committee within three session days after that. The committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its members, shall submit its report to the House within 60 days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within 10 session days from receipt thereof.

A vote of at least one-third of all the members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the articles of impeachment of the committee or override its contrary resolution. In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the members of the House, the same shall constitute the articles of impeachment and trial by the Senate, which has the sole power to try and decide all impeachment cases, shall forthwith proceed.

No one has filed or is seen to be preparing to file an impeachment complaint against the vice president. In his latest statement, President Marcos Jr. is reported to have affirmed his personal support for her. But the social media story, driven by sources other than the President, refuses to die. Either this is pure toxic propaganda intended to psych out the vice president, or it is a clear warning that something big will soon explode against her. This has happened before.

It will be recalled that on Dec. 12, 2011, without any advance notice, 286 members of the House met with then-President Noynoy Aquino and were made to sign a 56-page impeachment complaint against then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in exchange for pork barrel funds. None of the congressmen were allowed to read the document before signing it. Rep. Hermilando “Dodo” Mandanas of Batangas lost his chairmanship of the all-important committee on ways and means for asking to read it; Rep. Tobias Tiangco of Navotas, chairman of the committee on Metro Manila development, resigned from the majority in protest.

The same thing could happen to Sara if she is being set up for demolition, despite Marcos Jr.’s effort to protect her. Until now, he has blocked all efforts of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have her and her father investigated for the extrajudicial killings in the drug war in the Philippines. This issue has taken a new turn with the recent release from jail of former senator Leila de Lima, who has promised to “cooperate” with the ICC investigators, but the ICC, which is mainly interested in former president Duterte, is not Sara’s only problem.

Lately, Sara has been attacked for having been allotted P625 million in confidential funds, which she has been compelled to give up. This funding was clearly questionable, but Congress and the Ppresident, not the vice president, were responsible for it; it cannot be considered an impeachable offense on her part.

Sara’s “impeachable” offense, it seems to me, has to do solely with the fact that in 2022, she was elected vice president with more votes than the President, although he got the biggest presidential majority in the nation’s history in so doing, she earned the right to run for president as Marcos Jr’s potential successor in 2028. Now, Duterte the father says House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the President’s powerful first cousin, is “posturing” to run for president, threatening Sara’s presumed claim on the office.

In a radio-TV interview on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s Mindanao-based Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), Duterte said he had no quarrel with Marcos Jr., but he expressed in no uncertain terms his total displeasure with Romualdez. Unable to hide his disappointment but still trying to restrain himself, he said he had asked his daughter to forget about the presidency and “just give it to them.”

I do not know what to make of this statement, but whether or not there is any real effort to “impeach” Sara Duterte, I can only see trouble ahead. In the beginning, Duterte used to talk about forming a “revolutionary government”; now, the AFP chief of staff has warned against “destabilization efforts” on the part of some military retirees, and in his last radio-TV appearance, Duterte declared: “If corruption becomes rampant and uncontrolled, the military and the police should stage a coup d’etat.”