Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB)

House "Young Guns" bloc members Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V and Assistant Majority Leader Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun are anything but impressed with Vice President Sara Duterte's willingness to air her side in an impeachment proceeding.

Ortega and Khonghun questioned the sincerity behind Duterte’s declaration, given her past actions when the House of Representatives asked her to explain how agencies under her control spent millions worth of confidential funds. 

The Vice President claimed over the weekend that impeachment would allow her to address accusations in a formal and rule-bound setting. She called it an “inconvenience”, but an acceptable one.

“Tama po siya. Pero ang problema, paano kung walang impeachment? Saan na naman po siya sasagot? Baka wala na naman. Siguro mas maganda po na gawa na lang, hindi po salita,” Ortega said.

(She's correct. But the problem is, what if there's no impeachment? Where would she give answers to? She probably won't do it. I think it's better to prove it with actions and not with just words.)

Khonghun expressed the same apprehension about the lady official's remarks.

“Again, it’s another lip service ng ating Bise Presidente dahil nakikita naman natin na napakadaming pagkakataon na kailangan niyang magpaliwanag, hindi naman siya nagpapaliwanag,” Khonghun said.

(Again, it’s another lip service from our Vice President because we've seen the many opportunities to explain in the past that she let slip by.)

“Ngayon ang sinasabi niya through impeachment ay makakapagpaliwanag siya. Pero nakikita naman natin, in-snub niya ang hearing sa Kongreso, in-snub niya ang hearing sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), hindi siya nagpupunta, hindi nagpapakita,” he noted.

(Now she says impeachment will allow her to explain her side. But like what we've seen, she snubbed hearings of Congress, she snubbed hearings of the NBI, she doesn't surface.)

“So mahirap talaga magpaliwanag kung hindi mo alam kung paano mo ipapaliwanag ang iyong mga ginagawa. Sana malinawan ang kanyang pag-iisip," he added.

(So it's really hard to explain something when you don't how you did it. I hope she attains  clarity of mind.)

Two impeachment complaints have been filed against Vice President Duterte.