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The House of Representatives might have breached its own rules in handling impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, an analyst said on Sunday, January 26.
In a Teleradyo Serbisyo interview, lawyer and independent policy analyst Michael Henry Yusingco said impeachment complaints should reach the Speaker’s Office within 10 days based on the lower chamber rules.
As of January 14, three impeachment complaints filed last December had not yet been forwarded to the Office of House Speaker Martin Romualdez. This delay was attributed to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco awaiting a potential fourth complaint.
“Ito ‘yung dapat nasusunod na mga time periods na ayon mismo sa rules ng mababang kapulungan, na clearly hindi na nasusunod kasi right now merong tatlong impeachment complaints na nakabinbin pa rin sa Office of the Secretary General na hindi dapat ganun ang nangyari,” Yusingco said.
Yusingco said the House secretary is only responsible for verifying and validating the complaints, which have already been completed.
“Wala na siyang dapat gawin kundi ipadala ito kaagad sa Office of the Speaker,” Yusingco said.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Party-List Rep. Raoul Manuel urged their fellow House members to “uphold their constitutional duty and resist allowing the Executive to control the pace and outcome of the impeachment proceedings.”
“Never in the history of Congress have we witnessed impeachment complaints languishing in the Secretary General’s office for more than a month,” they said.
“The hesitation to transmit and initiate impeachment proceedings clearly stems from President Marcos Jr.’s previous statements admitting that he indeed told his allies not to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte as it was ‘not important’ and won’t make a difference in Filipinos’ lives,” they added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already said late last year that the impeachment proceedings would neither improve Filipinos’ lives nor achieve anything.
In response, the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo organized a “Peace Rally,” expressing support for the President’s stance. (TCSP)
