Akbayan: Impeaching VP Duterte would let Filipinos sleep better at night
Vice President Sara Duterte. PHOTO FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MANILA, Philippines — Removing Vice President Sara Duterte from office through impeachment will help Filipinos sleep soundly at night as her stay in power means she will always be a heartbeat away from the presidency, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña said on Friday.
Cendaña, in an online interview, said that while he understands the reservation of some lawmakers about impeaching Duterte, he believes there is a call for the Vice President’s removal, especially with a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey pointing out that 41 percent of Filipinos want her out of office.
READ: 41% for impeach rap, 35% against, 19% undecided
The lawmaker pointed this out as the House of Representatives, particularly the Office of Secretary General Reginald Velasco, has yet to forward the three complaints against Duterte to the Office of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
“Nauunawaaan natin sa’n nanggagaling ‘yong reservation ng ilang mga kasama sa House of Representatives. Pero ‘yon nga uli ang paalala, the time has come for this course of action. Habang dine-delay natin ito mas lalo tayong di makakatulog nang mahibing. Imagine you have a Vice President that is a heartbeat away from the presidency, a Vice President that has abused power,” Cendaña said.
Article continues after this advertisement(We understand where our fellow House members’ reservations are coming from. But the reminder again is that the time has come for this course of action. While we delay this, we cannot sleep soundly at night. Imagine you have a Vice President who is a heartbeat away from the presidency, a Vice President who has abused power.)
Article continues after this advertisement“Habang tayo ay nagpapatumpik-tumpik pa, mas lalong di tayong makakatulog nang mahibing kasi may eventuality na ‘wag naman sana, pupwede siyang mag-assume ng presidency. So the sooner na magagawa natin na ma-impeach siya, the sooner na makakatulog nang mahibing ang ating mga taumbayan,” he added.
(While we hesitate, the more that we cannot sleep well because there is an eventuality — I hope it does not happen — that she assumes the presidency. So the sooner that we can impeach her, the sooner the people can sleep well.
Cendaña said he hopes the issue can be tackled once the session resumes on Monday, January 13, noting that the time is ripe for impeaching Duterte. According to the lawmaker, which of the three complaints will be used as a basis for the proceedings is not important.
As of Friday, three impeachment complaints against Duterte have been filed, with Cendaña endorsing the first rap filed by civil society organization representatives.
“May constituency, may growing consensus, may momentum. Hinog na hinog na ang panahon para sila ay sumaporta at sila ay sumama sa ating panawagan na panagutin ang nag-abuso sa kapangyarihan […] Umaasa ako na sa pagbubukas muli ng Kongreso sa Lunes, at saka dito sa lumambas na survey, madadagdagan pa ‘yong mga nage-endorse sa ating impeachment complaints,” he said.
(It has a constituency; there is a growing consensus and momentum. The time is ripe for them to support and join our call to seek accountability from someone who abused her powers […] I hope that when Congress resumes its session this Monday, and with the survey, more would endorse our impeachment complaints.)
“Sa dulo naman kami sa first complaint, hindi sa amin material kung which complaint eventually goes to the Senate. Ang mahalaga ay ma-cover ‘yong mga grounds for impeachment na ating sinumbit — ‘yong betrayal of public trust, ‘yong graft and corruption, ‘yong grave threats. Kasi ang mahalaga dito ay ‘yong ating objective to hold Sara Duterte accountable,” he added.
(In the end, for us who back the first complaint, it is not material which complaint eventually goes to the Senate. The important thing is to cover the grounds for our submitted impeachment — the betrayal of public trust, the graft and corruption, the grave threats. Because what is important is our objective to hold Sara Duterte accountable.)
Last Wednesday, the Makabayan bloc — another sponsor of another impeachment complaint — called on petitioners and endorsers to discuss how the leadership can be urged to discuss the matter.
The first impeachment complaint was filed last December 2, followed by another complaint endorsed by the Makabayan on December 4, while the third one was submitted to Velasco’s office last December 19.
In a subsequent interview, Velasco said the three complaints against Duterte would be transmitted to Romualdez’s office if there are no additional complaints that would be filed and if no more lawmakers would endorse them.
Velasco explained that the reason why the complaints have yet to be forwarded to Romualdez is because he wants to avoid disenfranchising possible complainants — as some lawmakers appealed to defer the transmittal as raps may be filed, or because they will endorse existing complaints.
READ: Velasco: VP Sara impeach raps to be processed if no new cases are coming
Vice President Duterte has been accused of misusing public funds, particularly confidential fund (CF) allocations received by her office, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and previously, the Department of Education (DepEd).
Over the course of the House committee on good government and public accountability’s hearings, it was revealed that some of the acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for the CFs were signed by a certain Mary Grace Piattos — which Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop said bears a first name similar to a coffee shop, and a surname that is a famous potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two ARs — one for OVP and another for the DepEd — which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin. However, the signatures and handwriting of Villamin differed.
READ: House probe: OVP, DepEd CFs received by same man, different signatures
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) eventually said that the names Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin do not exist within their live birth, marriage, and death registry. Furthermore, PSA said that they have no records of the more than 400 names on the ARs for the DepEd’s CFs.
