MANILA, Philippines, Dec 4, (AP): A group led by left-wing activists filed a second impeachment complaint against the Philippine vice president on Wednesday over her alleged misuse of government funds and demanded that she be permanently barred from holding public office. The impeachment complaint filed by at least 74 activists, including human rights, labor and student leaders, before the House of Representatives reflects the extent of the political hostilities faced by Vice President Sara Duterte.

She did not immediately comment on the new impeachment complaint or an earlier one filed Monday. Duterte, a 46-year-old lawyer, is the daughter of also-controversial former President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw a bloody anti-drug crackdown while in office. The killing of thousands of suspects during the crackdown is being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

Her No. 1 political adversary has been President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whom she publicly threatened with death in a Nov. 23 online news conference. Government investigators have launched a criminal investigation into her threat against the president, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives, a cousin and ally of Marcos.

Duterte has tried to walk back her comments by saying they were not a direct death threat but rather an expression of concern for her own safety. The complaint filed Wednesday accused the vice president of "betrayal of public trust over the illegal use and mishandling of 612.5 million pesos ($10.3 million) in confidential funds,” according to a statement by the complainants.

The impeachment complaint said that in addition to the alleged misuse of the confidential and intelligence funds, the vice president and her staff allegedly tried to cover up the irregularities by submitting fabricated reports, receipts and documents to the Commission on Audit and deliberately obstructing a congressional investigation.

It said that in December 2022, the vice president’s office spent 125 million pesos ($2 million) in 11 days during the Christmas holidays for suspicious expenditures, including renting "safe houses,” paying for unspecified confidential information and financing rewards, which it said were not clearly explained by Duterte. "Wasting the confidential funds is a big betrayal of the people,” said Liza Maza, a leading complainant from the Makabayan political coalition. "This is not just a simple technical violation but a systematic misuse and robbery of public funds.”