Is plunder complaint against Philippine VP Sara Duterte an attempt to blunt her 2028 bid?

A plunder complaint filed against Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has reopened scrutiny of her use of “confidential funds” and opened a new legal front in a political stand-off that could shape the early dynamics of the 2028 presidential race.

A highly placed source, who told This Week in Asia about the complaint a week before it was filed, said the move was intended to blunt Duterte-Carpio’s prospects in the 2028 presidential election by tying her down in a prolonged anti-corruption investigation that could force sustained scrutiny of her finances, even without a conviction.

The complaint, submitted on Friday to the Office of the Ombudsman by an alliance of academics, clergy and civil society figures, accuses Duterte-Carpio and 15 others of plunder and other offences over the alleged misuse of 612.5 million Philippine pesos (US$10.3 million) in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice-President and, separately, to the Department of Education when she was education secretary.

Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte and a likely contender for the presidency in 2028, has been locked in a widening feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s camp.

That tussle has already spilled into legal and congressional battles, including an impeachment effort last year that the Supreme Court later voided on procedural grounds, effectively barring a new impeachment move until February 2026.

  

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