Joel Chua: From early Sara Duterte critic to prosecutor in her impeachment trial

PROSECUTION. Counsel for the prosecution Representative Joel Chua questions a witness during the continuation of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 29, 2026. Senate Social Media Unit Manila congressman Joel Chua is leading the team tasked to convince the impeachment court that Vice President Sara Duterte should be removed from office due to her alleged misuse of public funds Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua is leading the prosecution in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte for alleged misuse of confidential funds totaling P612.5 million. Chua has a background in local politics and legislative experience, having served as a councilor and worked for notable political figures before winning his congressional seat in 2022. Despite facing backlash from Duterte, including personal attacks during the campaign, Chua remains committed to his principles and is prepared for the challenges of his reelection bid in 2028. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua is the public prosecutor leading the team tasked to prove before the impeachment court that Vice President Sara Duterte misused her confidential funds worth hundreds of millions of pesos. It was Chua who examined the first witness of the prosecution on that alleged impeachable offense, when he questioned two bank officials who oversaw the withdrawal of checks — worth P612.5 million in total — by Duterte’s staff in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. This topic is familiar territory for Chua, who oversaw the House inquiry into Duterte’s alleged fiscal misdeed in 2024. Before his involvement in an issue of national interest, Chua’s political career had been mostly local. He was a councilor in Manila for four non-consecutive terms, from 2007 to 2016, and again from 2019 and 2022. He obtained his accountancy degree from the University of Santo Tomas and completed his law studies at San Sebastian College-Recoletos. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines. Prior to entering politics, he had some legislative experience working for the offices of the late Negros Occidental congressman Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo and Senator Lito Lapid, who is among the senator-judges in the impeachment trial at the upper chamber. It was in 2022 when he aimed for higher office, winning the congressional seat in Manila’s 3rd District under the banner of local party Asenso. It was the formidable political force in the nation’s capital headlined by then-Manila mayor Isko Moreno and eventual successor Honey Lacuna, before the two politicians had a falling out. Chua kept a relatively low profile during his first two years in the House of Representatives until April 2024, when he called for the resignation of Vice President Duterte — who was education secretary at the time — from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He was notably among the first critics of the Vice President outside the traditional opposition, calling her out even before she eventually stepped down as education chief, a moment that publicly confirmed the erosion of the Marcos-Duterte’s “Uniteam” alliance in 2022. During the House deliberations on the OVP’s proposed 2025 budget, Chua criticized Duterte for her actions before the lower chamber — throwing tantrums and sparring with lawmakers as she repeatedly refused to answer questions on the use of her confidential funds in 2022 and 2023. He was subsequently elevated to the position of chairman of good government committee — the House counterpart of the Senate blue ribbon committee. “To all but the most biased observers, it should be very easy to see why this committee has chosen to investigate the possibility of gaps in the regulation of confidential funds, as it is possible that we have seen these gaps exploited before our very eyes,” Chua said at the start of the House investigation. The committee’s findings served as foundation for the impeachment case that first hurdled the House in February 2025, although a trial was later aborted by the Senate after the Supreme Court declared the lower chamber’s proceedings as unconstitutional. His role in the committee predictably made him a target of the Vice President. When she had her infamous outburst during a virtual midnight conference inside the House in November 2024, an exasperated Duterte quipped: “Why are you smearing my name, Joel Chua?” That press briefing took place days after Chua’s committee detained her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, for “undue interference in proceedings.” Chua later said he sought security as he feared for his safety. As part of Duterte’s revenge tour, she visited his district during the 2025 campaign season to endorse his opponent, Apple Nieto. In one sortie, the Vice President hurled insults and profanity at Chua, and went as far as to ask Nieto to shove an apple into Chua’s mouth. Chua survived that election with a narrow margin, winning the congressional race with an over 3,000-vote difference against Nieto. In June 2025, Chua presented a committee report to the House plenary recommending the filing of criminal, civil, and administrative cases against the Vice President over her alleged misuse of funds and supposed “obstruction of inquiry” after officials from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education denied knowledge about the funds. “The people have long been waiting for her to finally answer who Mary Grace Piattos really is. The people have long been waiting for her to face and answer all the allegations against her at the impeachment proceedings,” Chua said in July. His high-profile role in the trial and its outcome are likely to complicate his reelection bid yet again in 2028, especially after a competitive battle in his district in the last elections. But Chua said he’s not afraid of losing in the polls. “As long as I believe in something, I will stand by it. Sometimes you have to stand for your principle, no matter what,” Chua said in a Rappler Talk interview in May. “What else am I supposed to do, turn a blind eye?” – with reports from Isabel Victorino/Rappler.com Isabel Victorino is a fourth year AB Communication student at Ateneo de Manila University and a writer for its school publication The GUIDON. She is currently a Rappler intern. How does this make you feel? Loading