Lawmakers slammed Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s petition to challenge the impeachment case, describing it as a “desperate legal maneuver” to obstruct justice and evade accountability.
On Wednesday, February 19, VP Sara filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC), challenging the Congress transmittal of the impeachment case against her. Following this, the lawmakers from the Makabayan Bloc condemned the VP’s attempt to block the impeachment proceedings.
According to a report by RH 12 Milky Rigonan, the Makabayan Bloc described the action as an attempt to avoid accountability for the questionable spending of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) confidential funds when she was its secretary.
Moreover, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro emphasized that the Supreme Court is not the proper venue for impeachment cases. She cited Duterte's refusal to appear in House hearings as a last-ditch effort to escape scrutiny.
"This is nothing but a last-ditch effort to escape scrutiny over the millions of confidential funds that were questionably spent under her watch. Kung walang tinatago, bakit ayaw humarap? First, she refused to appear in House hearings, now she wants to prevent the impeachment trial altogether," says Castro.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas questioned VP Sara’s previous remark, citing that the latter mentioned she’d welcome the impeachment trial.
"The pattern is clear - hindi haharap sa House hearings, ngayon naman ay gustong pigilan ang impeachment court. This is the height of arrogance and contempt for public accountability. Ang tanong: saan napunta ang milyon-milyong confidential funds?" Brosas highlighted.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel pointed out how the VP is blocking the impeachment process instead of defending her case. The lawmaker said that the Filipino people deserve answers.
"The Filipino people deserve answers, not legal gymnastics. The Vice President cannot hide behind her Davao lawyers forever. Kung talagang malinis ang konsensya, harapin ang impeachment court," Manuel emphasized.
The Makabayan bloc called on the High Court to dismiss the “baseless petition” from VP Duterte and allow the impeachment process to proceed accordingly. The former reiterated that the Senate must convene as an impeachment court without delays, citing that the impeachment complaint was properly filed and followed all constitutional requirements.
“We call on the Supreme Court to dismiss this baseless petition and allow the impeachment process to proceed according to constitutional mandate. All the more, the Senate must convene as an impeachment court without delay,” the Makabayan bloc said.
“The Filipino people deserve no less than full transparency and accountability from their public officials,” it ended.
