MORE PAINFUL Vice President Sara Duterte heads to the podium at her first press conference since being impeached on Feb. 5, 2025. After saying, 鈥淕od save the Philippines,鈥� she downplayed the move to oust her, telling journalists at the end that it was more painful to lose a lover than to be impeached by the House of Representatives. 鈥� LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V on Sunday called on Vice President Sara Duterte to stop abusing legal processes to divert public attention from her impeachment case.
In a statement, Ortega criticized the stream of complaints being filed against House leaders who supported Duterte鈥檚 impeachment, describing them as attempts to 鈥渋ntimidate, harass, and create media distractions.鈥�
鈥淭his is a clear abuse of legal processes. Instead of addressing the serious allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, the Vice President and her camp are wasting the time of our courts with frivolous cases designed to harass those who simply did their duty,鈥� he added.
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He noted that complaints are being filed almost daily or as often as three times a week before the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman, targeting lawmakers who upheld the rule of law during Duterte鈥檚 impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives.
Ortega stressed that the House acted within its constitutional mandate and would not be swayed by legal intimidation.
鈥淲e see this for what it is鈥攁n attempt to intimidate the House, divert attention from the issues, and create noise to mislead the public,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut no amount of legal theatrics can erase the facts: There were serious and questionable transactions in the Vice President鈥檚 use of confidential funds and in the Department of Education under her watch,鈥� he added.
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He urged Duterte to face the charges rather than 鈥渞esorting to harassment tactics.鈥�
鈥淭he public deserves the truth, not distractions,鈥� he added.
Ortega assured the public that Congress would not be deterred from fulfilling its duty to ensure accountability from government officials.
鈥淭hese intimidation tactics will not succeed. The House remains firm in its commitment to upholding transparency and accountability in government. We will not allow anyone鈥攏o matter how powerful鈥攖o evade scrutiny,鈥� he said.