Vice President Sara Duterte remains unshaken by the two impeachment complaints filed against her at the House of Representatives in a continuation of the wide-open rift between her and administration allies.
Vice President Sara Duterte at the House inquiry on her office's fund use. (MB file photo)
“I welcome that finally na-file na ‘yung impeachment case na sinasabi nilang i-file nila since last year pa (they finally filed the impeachment case they said they would file as early as last year),” she said in an interview with GMA Regional News on Monday, Dec. 9.
She breathed a sigh of relief, too, because the impeachment case would only be targeting her, sparing her staff at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
“So, okay din ‘yun impeachment case dahil ako lang ang tinitira nila, ako lang ang iniimbestigahan nila, ako lang ang inaatake ng impeachment (So, the impeachment case is better because I’ll be the only one they’re attacking, I’m the only one they’re investigating, the impeachment will attack only me),” she added.
Some of the OVP executives, including Duterte’s chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, have faced the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
In facing the House panel, some of her staff have fallen ill and needed to be hospitalized.
The Vice President said in a separate media interview in Davao City that she will personally respond to the complaints filed against her.
“Mas mabuti na rin ‘yun na merong impeachment dahil doon sa impeachment ako lang yung hinahabol ng mga members ng House of Representatives (The impeachment case is better because in an impeachment, the House of Representatives is only running after me),” she stressed.
But when asked if she thinks these impeachment cases will succeed in kicking her out of office, the official said her opponents “can always try, but God's plan will always prevail.”
Two impeachment complaints—one endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña and another by Makabayan bloc Reps. France Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Raoul Manuel—have been filed against Duterte.
The first impeachment complaint cited culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes as grounds for impeachment.
The second complaint, on the other hand, centers on three allegations, which include the "abuse, misuse, and wastage" of confidential funds; systematic cover-up of such actions through fabricated accomplishment reports, receipts, and documents submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA); and deliberate obstruction of congressional investigation and oversight.