Supporters of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte are confident that the Makabayan bloc signature drive that will abbreviate the process of removing her will get the support of over 1/3 of the Lower House membership.

This developed as the INC prepared to hold a nationwide rally to oppose the impeachment moves.

Once either of the two filed impeachment complaints are endorsed by 106 of the 318 members of the Lower Chamber, the bid to remove Duterte will no longer require the approval of the Committee on Justice.

The move will force the Senate to convene itself into an impeachment court to try the vice president of for charges cited in the complaint.

In a statement, the three-person Makabayan bloc noted that “securing the signatures of 106 representatives will automatically transmit the Resolution to the Senate for trial.”

Leading the signature drive are House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro; Asst. Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Daniel Manuel.

The three progressive lawmakers also endorsed the second impeachment complaint filed by Leftist groups.

Citing betrayal of public trust as ground for impeaching Duterte, complainants accused the vice president of misusing PHP612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds of the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President.

“Hindi ito simpleng paglabag. Ang paggamit ng pondo sa ganitong paraan ay sistematikong pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan,”said Castro.

In a statement, Manuel said: “This is not just about numbers. It is about the integrity of public service and the trust of the people.”

Aside from questionable disbursement of CIF , Duterte was also being implicated in the fabrication of accomplishment reports and receipts in order to coverup the anomalies.

She was also accused of trying to obstruct congressional oversight by refusing to participate in budget hearings and investigations.

“Imbes na humarap at magpaliwanag, pinili ni VP Duterte na umiwas sa mga imbestigasyon at hearings. Ito ay malinaw na paglabag sa prinsipyo ng public accountability,” said Brosas.