Vice President Sara Duterte (Composite image from Inquirer, AP file photos)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives because of her refusal to answer or address allegations of confidential fund (CF) misuse within her offices, several lawmakers reminded her family on Monday.
In a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega made this reminder after being asked about the statements from Duterte鈥檚 father, former president Rodrigo Duterte 鈥� to vote for his endorsed candidates.
According to Duterte, it will ensure that the Vice President would not be at a disadvantage during the impeachment trial.
鈥溾�榊on naman pong sa impeachment, nakita naman po natin 鈥榶an lahat during the quad comm, during the budget hearing, sa (committee on good) government, eh hindi pa nga po nasasagot si Mary Grace Piattos,鈥� Ortega said.
(With the impeachment, we have seen the findings during the quad comm, during the budget hearing, at the (committee on good) government, they weren鈥檛 able to answer issues surrounding Mary Grace Piattos.)
鈥淪agutin na muna nila 鈥榶on, o ayan, may impeachment na.聽 Kaya nga umabot sa punto na ganyan kasi hindi nga masagot 鈥榶ong napakasimpleng tanong 鈥� sino ba si Mary Grace Piattos, saan napunta 鈥榶ong mga pera na yan.聽 Kaya 鈥榳ag muna kayo mag-fake news,鈥� he added.
(Answer that first, now there鈥檚 an impeachment trial.聽 The reason why we reached this point is because they cannot answer the simple question 鈥� who is Mary Grace Piattos, where did the funds go?聽 So do not resort to spreading fake news.)
Mary Grace Piattos is the alleged person who signed the acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) CF disbursements.
The name surfaced during one of the hearings of the House committee on good government and public accountability, after Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop took notice of the strange name 鈥� as it had a first name similar to a coffee shop, and a last name using a famous potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two more ARs 鈥� one for OVP and another for the Department of Education (DepEd) 鈥� which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin.聽
However, the signatures and handwriting of Villamin differed.
The ARs were issued when Duterte still headed DepEd.
Adiong, who was also present during the briefing, said he understands that it is natural for former President Duterte to defend his daughter.聽
However, Adiong noted that the accusations against Duterte really deserve a day in court.
鈥淗e鈥檚 entitled naman to have his own opinion eh, lahat naman tayo mayroong sariling interpretasyon sa lahat ng bagay na 鈥榶on.聽 Of course, you cannot discount the fact that the Vice President is his daughter.聽 So talagang sasabihin niya 鈥榶on whatever [鈥 reason that he may think behind itong impeachment,鈥� Adiong said.
(He鈥檚 entitled to have his own opinion, we all have different interpretations of these things. Of course, you cannot discount the fact that the Vice President is his daughter.聽 So he will really say whatever reason that he may think is behind this impeachment.)
鈥淏ut the impeachment, if we go to the merits of the case, 215 complainants, members of this House said that the VP deserves a day in court.聽 And her case, it鈥檚 not really connected with her partisanship or which party she belongs to.聽 These are brought about by the allegations and violations of the joint circular when it comes to the utilization of the confidential funds,鈥� he added.
Adiong said they should not divert from the issues at hand 鈥� including the threats made by the vice president Duterte to the life of President Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Ferdinand Romualdez.
鈥淥ne of the articles of impeachment is brought about by the threats that she made publicly against the President, against the First Lady and the Speaker of the House, threatening their lives. So we should not divert from those real issues at hand.聽 That is the focus of this impeachment,鈥� he said.
鈥淧olitics can be addressed during the elections.聽 There are ways to resolve politics but this is already something beyond politics. This is about holding public officials accountable to their actions,鈥� he added.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives last February 5 after 215 lawmakers filed and verified a fourth impeachment complaint.聽
The articles of impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate, as the 1987 Constitution requires a trial to start forthwith if at least one-thirds of all House members 鈥� in this case, 102 out of 306 鈥斅� have signed and endorsed the petition.
However, the articles of impeachment were not forwarded to the Senate plenary before session ended on February 5 鈥� which meant that Congress would have to reconvene first after the election season or through a special session to discuss the impeachment.