A serial impeachment complaint filer and a perennial candidate聽on Monday聽asked Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to endorse their impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo.
Atty. Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez sent a letter to Alvarez requesting him to endorse their impeachment complaint against Robredo.
They accused Robredo of allegedly committing betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution due to her criticisms of the administration鈥檚 drug war in a video she sent to the United Nations.
鈥淲e respectfully request that you endorse the attached complaint for impeachment against Leni Robredo,鈥� Lozano and Chavez said in their letter to Alvarez.
Lozano was a notorious serial impeachment filer during the administrations of Gloria Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.聽He filed an impeachment complaint against Arroyo five times and Aquino twice. Lozano was a former lawyer of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Meanwhile, Chavez is a known perennial candidate and a member of Marcos鈥� political party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan.
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The Marcos loyalists said Robredo is a 鈥渢ermite of the government鈥� and that her 鈥渦nfaithfulness has extended to the betrayal of the public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.鈥�
According to the impeachment complaint, Robredo 鈥渂etrayed the people by shaming the nation with her dishonest message to the United Nation.鈥�
鈥淭he respondent is duty bound to act within the framework of the Constitution but her acts of dishonesty and moral bankruptcy breached the bounds of the fundamental law,鈥� the complaint read.
In a text message to reporters, Alvarez said he has yet to read the draft impeachment complaint.
In a statement, Robredo鈥檚 staunch ally Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo said the lower House should not waste its time on the 鈥渂aseless complaint鈥� against the vice president.
The Marikina congressman said the House should not allow itself to be used by 鈥渞ecidivist impeachers鈥� who 鈥渢rivialize this deeply sacred accountability measure enshrined in our Constitution.鈥�
鈥淲e must not allow Congress and its members to be dragged into their petty political charades,鈥� Quimbo said.
Chavez and Lozano asked Alvarez to endorse the impeachment complaint just after the Speaker said he was studying the possibility of filing an impeachment complaint against Robredo for聽betrayal of public trust.
Alvarez bristled at Robredo鈥檚 video message to the United Nations critical of the administration鈥檚 war on drugs and accused the Vice President of聽painting the country in a bad light before the international community, which has serious economic consequences.
鈥淎ng pananaw ko dito, may betrayal of public trust (In my view, there鈥檚 betrayal of public trust),鈥� Alvarez聽said.
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鈥淜ung ikaw, ipagpapalagay nating totoo ang pagkakahalal, sisiraan mo ang bayan sa international community nang walang pakundangan, ano ang magiging epekto nun? Economically, may impact po yun,鈥澛燗lvarez聽said.
(If we assume that her election in office was legitimate and true, and then you put the country in a bad light before the international community, what would be the effect of that? Economically, there will be an impact.)
鈥淧inipinta niya ang bayan natin na hindi maganda sa mata ng international community,鈥澛燗lvarez聽added.
(She is painting the country in a bad light before the eyes of the international community.)
Alvarez聽also聽took聽a hit at the legitimacy聽of Vice President聽Robredo, who faces an election protest filed by聽former senator聽Bongbong Marcos聽after the latter lost by聽a margin of 200,000 votes. Bongbong is the son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
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An impeachment complaint was mulled against Robredo just days after Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano聽first filed the complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte for the latter鈥檚 alleged hand in the vigilante killings by the Davao Death Squad and the spate of extrajudicial killings at the height of his administration鈥檚 war on drugs, as well as his alleged P2.2 billion hidden wealth.
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Alvarez then tagged聽Robredo聽as being behind the impeachment move against Duterte, noting that the filing of Magdalo鈥檚 impeachment complaint coincided with her message to the United Nations聽Commission聽on聽Narcotic Drugs blasting the administration鈥檚 narcotics war.
Robredo聽also exposed the alleged 鈥減alit ulo鈥� scheme where poor families were rounded up by the police who would then demand that relatives would be taken in exchange for the accused drug personalities if the latter were missing.
Robredo鈥檚 six-minute video is scheduled to be shown at the 60th United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna./rga/ac
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