QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Lawmakers criticized Senator Leila De lima for claiming that President Duterte can be impeached for his statement before business leaders recently that hinted he had personally killed a criminal while still the Davao City Mayor.
According to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the President cannot be impeached by the alleged statement because there is no evidence backing it.
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Alvarez even called De Lima ”stupid” for claiming that the President could be impeached with his admission in a text message to reporters.
De Lima made the claim in an interview with CNN International while she was in the United States where she had earlier received an award for being a “Leading Global Thinker” in the “challenger” category. This is for allegedly standing up against President Duterte and his anti-drug war.
Alvarez said the President cannot be impeached by “mere words.”
“Hindi lang siya sinungaling, t—- din pala (She’s not just a liar, she’s stupid as well). You cannot just impeach an official for mere words. You have to prove the offense,” Alvarez said.
Majority leader Rudy Fariñas also said Duterte could not be impeached for an alleged act he committed when he was still a mayor
He said the Duterte could only be impeached for an act he committed when he was already the Chief Executive.
“What? The President said that such happened when he was a mayor patrolling the streets of Davao to keep them drug or crime free… The President could only be impeached (for) acts or omissions committed as President!” Fariñas said.
He explained that De Lima herself had investigated Duterte on his supposed links to the Davao Death Squad, when she was still the chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and when she was the head of the DOJ, and yet still found no evidence that would stand in court.
In an interview with CNN International, Senator De Lima claimed President Duterte’s latest admission that he personally killed suspects or criminals in Davao city was already a ground for impeachment under betrayal of public trust.
“I should say that that is an impeachable offense. That is a culpable violation of the Constitution. That is betrayal of public trust and that constitutes high crimes because these are mass murders,” De Lima said.
“Mass murders certainly fall under the category of high crimes and high crimes is a ground for impeachment under our Constitution,” she added.
