MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Whether or not Vice President Sara Duterte faces impeachment complaints, the public will not benefit from them, former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said on Friday.
Panelo reasoned that the ones in power only attend to their interests.
鈥淢ay impeachment, walang nangyayari. May impeachment o wala, 鈥榙i nakikinabang ang taumbayan dahil ang interes ng mga nasa kapangyarihan ang inaasikaso nila,鈥� Panelo said in a forum in San Juan city.
(With or without impeachment, nothing changes. Whether there鈥檚 an impeachment or not, the people don鈥檛 benefit because those in power only look after their own interests.)
Furthermore, when asked if Duterte is still fit to be part of the government, Panelo answered, 鈥淒efinitely.鈥�
Representatives from civil society organizations filed two impeachment complaints against Duterte, endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cenda帽a and Makabayan bloc lawmakers Rep. France Castro, Rep. Raoul Manuel, and Rep. Arlene Brosas.
The complaints stemmed from grounds such as betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.
READ: Makabayan willing to work with Akbayan on VP Duterte鈥檚 impeachment
Panelo also described the impeachment moves as a 鈥減olitical agenda,鈥� emphasizing that 鈥渁ll the forces against the Dutertes will combine whether you like it or not.鈥�
When asked if the Duterte camp was in talks with other senators to secure the Vice President鈥檚 acquittal should the impeachment charges reach the Senate, Panelo said there were no plans.
鈥淒o your worst, and we鈥檒l do our best. 鈥楧i sila natitinag (They are unfazed),鈥� he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said that he ordered Congress not to file any impeachment rap against Duterte, adding that it was unimportant and would not make any difference to Filipinos鈥� lives.
READ: Marcos says he ordered impeachment moves vs VP Sara Duterte stopped
Previous House hearings investigated the alleged misuse of the confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
A House probe found that the OVP and the Department of Education submitted about 4,500 acknowledgment receipts to the Commission on Audit to explain how they used the P612.5 million confidential funds.
Furthermore, the name 鈥淢ary Grace Piattos鈥� surfaced during the investigation of the House panel on good government and public accountability. She was supposedly the one who signed acknowledgment receipts as part of the liquidation reports referring to the P23.8 million confidential funds covered by 158 receipts.
The Philippine Statistics Authority recently confirmed there was no one named Mary Grace Piattos in their live birth and death registry.
READ: Solons: Mary Grace Piattos being fake has serious implications for OVP