(Eagle News) — Presidential Anti-Crime Commissioner Manuelito Luna said that Vice-President Leni Robredo could be impeached for “betrayal of public trust” if she insists on an international inquiry on President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
In a statement, Luna warned Robredo about making statements that tend to already judge as guilty of human rights abuses the Philippine government in its conduct of its controversial “war on drugs” campaign.
The PACC official said that it was about time that Robred be held accountable for what he called her “political sins.”
“For the nth time, she has made it appear that the government is guilty of human rights abuses, and that’s betrayal of public trust,” Luna said.
He cited Article XI of the Philippine Constitution which discusses the accountability of public officers.
Luna particularly cited Section 2 which states that “the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.”
Section 1 also stressed that “public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”
The PACC commissioner explained that Robredo’s pronouncements on the Duterte drug war could already be considered as a form of “betrayal of public trust.”
“It’s about time that she should be held to account for her political sins against the Filipino people,” Luna said.
Robredo had earlier said that the Philippine government should welcome, instead of reject, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s review of its controversial drug war.
She said she could not understand why President Rodrigo Duterte would not allow the UNHRC to look deeper into the drug war.
The Philippine president, however, said that he would review first the purpose of the UNHRC if ever it would conduct an inquiry of his war on drugs.
“Let them state their purpose and I will review it,” Duterte told reporters last week.
This was before the 47-member council voted on the controversial Iceland authored resolution pushing for a comprehensive review and report on the Philippine drug war.
He said that if the UN rights body would just want to sow intrigue about his work, it is better for them “to go the media and the media will tell the truth.”
“Kasi kung magdagdag lang sila sa intriga (because if they will just add to the controversy), they better go to the media and the media will tell them the truth. Eh ipalabas ninyo ‘yung footages ninyong lahat (Release all your footages) and all, and that will clear everybody,” Duterte said.
Malacanang has questioned the propriety and validity of the UNHRC resolution calling for a comprehensive written report on the Philippine government’s drug war.
Only 18 countries voted for the resolution authored and pushed by Iceland, while 14 countries of the 47-member council voted against it. Fifteen member nations, on the other hand, abstained from the vote.
