Duterte warns 2027 budget could be used to pressure impeachment judges

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte raised concerns that public funds could be misappropriated for political purposes, specifically cautioning that the 2027 national budget might be deployed to pressure senator-judges presiding over her impeachment trial. Speaking in Manila on Wednesday, Duterte suggested that lawmakers supporting her ouster could be rewarded through budgetary allocations, framing such actions as indicators of governmental corruption. The Vice President characterized these potential practices as threats to institutional integrity, warning that public coffers risked becoming tools for what she called the "political survival of the corrupt." She challenged the House prosecution panel handling her impeachment case to address these concerns directly. Duterte's remarks underscore growing tensions surrounding her impeachment proceedings, which have intensified political divisions within the government.