Malaya says Makabayan move to impeach VP Duterte 鈥榦pportunistic鈥�
MANILA, Philippines — National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the Makabayan bloc’s move to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte was “opportunistic” ahead of the 2025 national and local elections.
Last Wednesday, Dec. 4, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) led over 70 representatives of progressive groups in filing the second impeachment complaint against Duterte for her offices’ alleged misuse of confidential funds.
READ: VP Sara Duterte faces 2nd impeachment rap
“Nagfi-file sila ng impeachment (They’re filing for impeachment), left and right. Why are they doing that? Again, very clearly, it is political opportunism and political mileage,” Malaya said at Friday’s press conference with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
The first impeachment complaint was lodged on Monday, Dec. 2, by civil society organizations led by Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña.
Beforehand, despite a widening rift between him and Duterte, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned against moves to impeach his vice president, saying the process would “tie Congress down” and “waste time.”
Article continues after this advertisement“We agree with the President. We agree that the Makabayan’s impeachment of VP Sara is a distraction from the more urgent issues facing the country… And the President is just concerned with addressing the needs of the Filipino people,” Malaya stressed.
Article continues after this advertisementLast Nov. 29, the three-person Makabayan bloc in the House – ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel – called Marcos’ remarks an “undue executive interference in legislative affairs.”
READ: Makabayan hits Marcos: Malacañang shouldn’t tell House what to do
NTF-Elcac, of which NSC’s Malaya is also a spokesperson, slammed Makabayan on Monday for condemning the President, adding that the progressive lawmakers “intend to burn that house down.”
READ: Constitution mandates action on impeach raps vs VP Duterte – solons
Ranking House members, however, said in a Saturday statement that the Constitution mandates them to act on the impeachment complaints.
