By Mikhail Flores
MANILA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte faced another round of impeachment complaints on Monday after surviving attempts to remove her last year, with rights groups and activists accusing her of betraying the public's trust, corruption and other crimes.
The daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte is widely seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election and prevailed after a similar impeachment bid last year, which the Supreme Court struck down for violating constitutional safeguards.
A lawyer for Duterte said the fresh challenge "comes as no surprise".
"We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes," her lawyer Michael Poa said in a statement.
BITTER BATTLE
The complaints are the latest twist in the Philippines' tumultuous politics, with the vice president still locked in a bitter battle with former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ahead of the next election. Marcos cannot run again due to a single-term limit but is expected to back a successor to try to keep Duterte from power.
Civil society and leftist groups filed two separate complaints against Duterte on Monday based on similar grounds to those lodged last year.
Those included her alleged misuse of public funds, bribery for government contracts and threatening to kill Marcos, the first lady, and the former House speaker who is also the president's cousin. The complainants also accused Duterte of ignoring congressional inquiries.
"The constitution does not permit such cynical disregard for public trust. It does not allow the Vice President to treat public funds as a personal war chest while stonewalling all attempts at oversight," one of the complaints said.
Duterte has previously rejected the allegations.
Marcos too is facing a separate impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives. Asked for comment on the new complaints against Duterte, the president's communications office said it was a matter for Congress to decide.
"We respect the rule of law and we respect due process. The president wants to fight corruption as much as he can, and people deserve to know the truth," it said.
CHALLENGING BID
Unlike last year's complaints, the impeachment effort against Duterte will need to hurdle additional procedures imposed by the Supreme Court last year.
A midterm election last year also saw more Duterte allies join the Senate, members of which serve as jurors in impeachment cases.
"It's even more challenging now, I would say, given this Supreme Court final ruling," Senator Risa Hontiveros told foreign correspondents at a forum on Monday.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty)
