Several members of the House of Representatives said that the alleged impeachment campaign against Vice President Sara Duterte needs to stop since no such talks are going on in Congress.
Some congressional leaders made the clarification during the House-sanctioned briefing earlier this week after Duterte claimed that she received information about an alleged plot to oust her from her position as the country’s second-highest official.
In the briefing earlier this week, House assistant majority leader Francisco Paolo Ortega questioned the validity of the Vice President’s acquired data.
House Minority member 1-Rider Representative Rodge Gutierrez, who also attended the news conference, likewise expressed the same view.
House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin, for her part, said it’s a “waste to spend time on senseless talks” that do not materialize.
“I haven’t heard talks of impeachment, and I don’t see my colleagues [talking] about it,” Garin said.
House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong, who was also in the briefing, said the alleged campaign is counterproductive to what the Congress is currently working on.
“That’s why we don’t put credence on the issue because we know this [only creates] disunity, creates chaos politically,” Adiong said.
In a press conference after the Vice President faced a Senate subcommittee deliberating on her office’s proposed 2025 budget, Duterte claimed that she already expected an impeachment case.
She also said that it was always discussed among members of the House of Representatives.
“We always hear about it from our friends inside,” Duterte added.
The impeachment talks came after the uproar over the Vice President’s quick distribution of P125 million in confidential money in 2022 and indications of strife between Duterte and the President’s supporters.
Duterte formally left Marcos’ Cabinet in June, therefore indicating the political split between the duo controlling the presidential and vice presidential contests in 2022.
Duterte nor her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago are not included in the political coalition Marcos has assembled for the 2025 midterm elections.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the House of Representatives has sole authority to start impeachment proceedings based on culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, corruption, other serious crimes, or public confidence betrayal. (TCSP)
