LOYALTY TO PEOPLE Leaders of civil society groups who filed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte (right) say their decision to proceed with the ouster move is meant to show their loyalty to the people. 鈥擫YN RILLON/NI脩O JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Sen. JV Ejercito thinks the impeachment move against Vice President Sara Duterte is 鈥渧ery divisive.鈥�
In an ambush interview on Tuesday, Ejercito also said he was saddened by the continued 鈥減olitical bickerings鈥� that 鈥渄erail鈥� the country鈥檚 economic progress.
鈥淔or me, personally, it鈥檚 very divisive because we know that impeachment is more political than legal,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to move forward if the top two officials are bickering because it does not give a good signal, especially in the international community, making it appear that there鈥檚 political instability in the country. We are already having a hard time inviting investors, and then there鈥檚 this political instability,鈥� he added.
Ejercito also said government officials should focus their attention on infrastructure development and healthcare 鈥� two of his advocacy priorities.
Earlier, Senate President Francis Escudero appealed to senators to refrain from commenting on the impeachment complaint against Duterte as the Senate would serve as an impeachment court聽should the complaint push through.
鈥淪hould the Senate be called upon to act as an impeachment court, any perception of bias or pre-judgment would undermine not only the integrity of the impeachment trial but also the public鈥檚 trust in the Senate as an institution,鈥� he explained.
The first impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed by civil society organizations before the House of Representatives鈥� Office of the Secretary-General on Monday afternoon.
The 50-page impeachment was endorsed by Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cenda帽a.