(Eagle News) — If an impeachment complaint is filed against Vice-President Leni Robredo with the House of Representatives when Congress resumes, it is possible that this would move faster and prosper unlike the impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte.
This was how leaders at the Lower House and even Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III viewed recent developments affecting the top two leaders of the country.
An impeachment complaint was earlier filed by Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano against President Duterte, citing his alleged culpable violation of the the Constitution, bribery, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. This was filed on March 16, 2017, on the first day of the long recess of Congress.
Alejano said the date of the filing was intentional to give them more time to get more votes against President Duterte. Congress resumes its session on May 2.
But it seemed an impeachment complaint against Robredo, if it would be filed and endorsed in Congress, would be the faster to prosper, according to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Justice committee chair Reynaldo Umali, and even Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
More lawmakers to vote for Robredo impeachment
It is a numbers game, noted Rep. Umali and the impeachment complaint against the President would most likely “die a natural death” if lawmakers would not vote for it.
“On the other hand…it will be easier to get the numbers to pursue an impeachment complaint against the Vice President,” he said.
Speaker Alvarez himself said that Robredo’s pronouncements in a video message sent to a United Nations side event in Vienna, Austria “betrayed public trust.”
He said the act of misinformation that the Vice-President did before the international audience was an impeachable offense under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
“Ang pananaw ko dito mayroong betrayal of public trust… Sa buong buhay ko, ngayon lang ako nakakita ng isang mataas na opisyal ng gobyerno na walang pakundangan siraan ang ating bansa sa international community… Ano ang magiging epekto noon economically?” Alvarez said in a television interview by CNN Philippines.
Pimentel also noted that it was more likely that more lawmakers would vote to impeach Robredo if indeed a complaint would be filed against her.
“There is a bigger chance of this passing (the House of Representatives),” he said.
He noted that Speaker Alvarez himself was interested in pushing for the impeachment complaint against the Vice-President. This, plus the supermajority in the House Alvarez claims to have with the solid support of some 230 congressmen, would point to a possible impeachment complaint passing through the Lower House.
Liberal Party solon says impeachment complaint vs Duterte won’t prosper
A Liberal Party congressman at the House of Representatives, Rep. Miro Quimbo, who is also the House’s Deputy Speaker, said the LP is also not supporting the impeachment of President Duterte, saying it was premature and doomed to fail.
“The complaint against the President, I see no chance of it gaining any support simply because it is ill-timed and it is not grounded on a wellspring of emotions coming from a lot of people. The President is very popular! You don’t do that to a popular president,” said Deputy Speaker Quimbo on Tuesday, March 21.
Liberal Party defends Robredo
The Liberal party, however, was quick to defend Robredo, their titular head, as the calls to impeach her mounted, even in social media.
Liberal Party senators have already issued a statement denouncing Pimentel for commenting on Robredo’s impeachment, instead of focusing on what they claimed should be more vital issues affecting Filipinos.
“These are the numbers that we should all be focusing on, not the 100 votes of congressmen on the impeachment case threatened by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Solicitor General Jose Calida on Vice President Robredo,” their statement said which was forwarded by Liberal Party president Senator Francis Pangilinan.
Pangilinan also said that the Senate should focus on issued that would lead to the improvement of the lives of the people and the lives of the children.
He was, however, very supportive of earlier Senate hearings on the alleged Davao Death Squad where alleged DDS members surfaced to pin down President Duterte.
Senate minority leader Ralph Recto, Robredo’s co-member at the Liberal Party, also spoke to defend the Vice-President.
“Wala akong nakikitang (I don’t see any) betrayal of public trust as far as the video message is concerned…It is part of democracy to criticize the government policy,” Recto said.
Liberal Party chairman and Minority floor leader Senator Franklin Drilon said it was not an act of betrayal of public trust when one criticizes the government.
Earlier, Calida also said that Robredo should be impeached for her video message to the UN side event which he described as “treasonous.”
Calida said he was even willing to help Alvarez pursue an impeachment complaint against Robredo.
Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing also earlier said that a group of volunteer lawyers are building an impeachment case against Robredo for “economic sabotage” for her “unverified statements in the international community intended to discredit the Duterte administration in its anti-illegal drugs.”
Lozano seeks Alvarez’ endorsement on impeachment complaint vs Robredo
But on Monday, Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez, known Marcos supporters, already jumped the gun on those who want to submit an impeachment complaint against Robredo.
Lozano and Chavez, calling themselves members of the Volunteers for Good Government, prepared a six-page draft complaint for impeachment against Robredo on the grounds of culpable violation of the Constitution, acts of injustice, and betrayal of public trust in connection with the Vice-President’s video message criticizing President Duterte’s war on drugs.
The two also sought Alvarez’s endorsement.
“We respectfully request that you endorse the attached complaint for impeachment against Leni Robredo. She is the termite of the government,” their attachment sent to the House Speaker read.
This endorsement is needed so it could be considered a verified impeachment complaint.
It was, however, seen as just the first of more impeachment complaints against Robredo to be submitted to the House Speaker’s office.
