Lawmakers from the Akbayan Partylist denounced the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to block Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, citing that declaring it unconstitutional is a betrayal of the constitution.
In a statement released Friday, July 25, the Akbayan Partylist emphasized that the ruling is “not a defense of the Constitution,” but rather a betrayal of it. The higher court announced its decision to block the impeachment bid against VP Duterte the same day, stating that it was on the basis of the one-year rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution.
However, the Akbayan Representatives said the decision turns the Constitution into a “shield for impunity for the powerful.”
“It mangles the letter of the law to protect the powerful and prevent the truth from being heard,” the Akbayan said in a statement.
“This decision effectively turns the Constitution into a shield for impunity for the powerful. The one-year rule is meant to prevent harassment through repeated impeachment attempts. However, it has been weaponized to preempt any attempt to hold VP Sara accountable,” it added.
Through this, the partylist reminded the public that the Vice President must still answer for her crimes, like the misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, and the violation of the Constitution, unexplained wealth, conspiring to commit murder and other high crimes.
“This decision is a dark stain on the reputation of the Supreme Court. In this crucial moment of our history when the people demanded justice and accountability, the high court chose to make itself complicit to impunity and an accessory to the debasement of the Constitution,” their statement ended.
In a separate post, Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno wrote, “Sa desisyong ito, talo ang taumbayan. Talo ang pananagutan.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Perci Cendaña said that the Supreme Court has reduced itself to being the “Supreme Coddler of Vice President Sara Duterte.”
“The dismissal of the impeachment sets a dangerous precedent. Lahat ng tiwalang politiko, pwedeng magtago sa likod ng Supreme Court at takasan ang pananagutan sa sambayanan,” Cendaña wrote.
