Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun says the “assassination” threats made by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez constitute a clear ground for impeachment.

“Ang mga binitawang mga salita ng ating Bise Presidente, tingin ko impeachable offense,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

(The words uttered by our Vice President, it’s an impeachable offense in my view.)

Khonghun, however, said his colleagues in the House of Representatives (HOR) have not yet discussed the matter of impeaching Duterte because they are busy with legislative work.

“Hindi pa namin ito napag-uusapan, dahil abalang-abala din kaming lahat sa pag-attend ng meeting,” the lawmaker noted.

(We haven't talked about it yet, because we are all too busy attending meetings.)

“At marami din kaming mga batas, mga ordinansa, mga panukalang batas na kailangan ayusin, lalong-lalo na naghahabol din kami dahil malapit na nga yung break,” he added.

(And we also have a lot of laws, ordinances, bills that need to be fixed, especially since we are also in a rush because the break is coming.)

In the same press briefing, lawmakers said they were mostly preoccupied with the ongoing inquiry into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s time as secretary.

“Basta kami po tinutuloy pa lamang po namin itong trabaho, kung ano po yung aming maa-unravel dito po sa committee hearing na ‘to,” said Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua.

(We are just continuing this work, and what will we unravel here at this committee hearing.)

Chua, who chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said his members’ attention is primarily on the content of the committee report once the inquiry concludes.

“Sa ngayon wala pa naman kaming napag-uusapan tungkol dyan,” he said, referring to an impeachment.

(So far we haven't talked about that.)

Talks of impeachment soared anew following the Vice President’s claim of contacting an assassin to kill three of the country’s top leaders, in the event she gets slain.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier served a subpoena to Duterte so she may shed light on her alleged grave threats.

Duterte has since questioned government authorities for taking her statement “out of logical context”.

Assistant Majority Leader and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon said that the Vice President’s threats have no place in the government.

“Remember VP po siya and isa po siyang abogada. Alam niya po yung mga consequences when we uttered the statements,” added Bongalon.

(Remember she is a VP and a lawyer. She knew the consequences when she uttered those statements.)

Under Article XI, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, the president, vice president, members of the Supreme Court (SC), members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office by impeachment.

The grounds of such include culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.