Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, December 8 expressed concern there would be delays in the approval of priority bills should the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte pushes through.

Gatchalian said that is one of the main possible complications he expects to happen once the impeachment complaints against the nation’s second top leader reaches the Senate.

“Ang nakikita kong komplikasyon diyan yung pag umakyat ang impeachment. Marami tayong mga priority measures, mga batas na gusto natin tapusin, tingin ko babagal yan o baka hindi na matalakay (I expect complications once the impeachment complaint inches forward. We have so many priority measures, laws we wish to finish; we expect these would be delayed or won’t be taken up),” Gatchalian said in a DZBB interview.

“Dahilan yung concentration, yung focus, yung research, bubuhos talaga dito sa impeachment (Because the concentration, the focus, research, everything would be utilized for the impeachment trial),” he said.

For one, any impeachment proceedings would be taxing to all lawmakers, especially for senators who will serve as judges in the impeachment court.

“Dahil itong impeachment, masalimuot (Because this impeachment, it’s complicated),” he added.

Moreover, most lawmakers would be busy with the upcoming May 2025 elections, especially once the campaign period kicks off.

“Tapos ang campaign period, tatlong buwan yan. So ang pinaguusapan na lang natin, halos dalawang buwan. So dapat tignan din yung aspeto na yan kung mayroon pang oras o hindi (Then we have the campaign period which runs for three months. So we’ll discuss this for two months. So it’s imperative to consider the aspect if there is still time or not),” he explained.

Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Governance, meanwhile said members of the committee will hold a meeting to discuss if it will wrap up its probe into the controversy over the confidential funds of the vice president.

Chua said that since impeachment cases have been filed against the vice president, they believe its time to cease hearing the case and let it progress to the House Committee on Justice.

“Kung saka-sakaling ito ay dudulugin sa Committee on Justice, doon na lang niya dapat sagutin ang mga katanungan (Should the committee on justice hears the impeachment complaints, she should answer the questions asked of her in the said forum),” Chua said in a separate interview on DZBB.

Fake assassination claims

Meanwhile, Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre dismissed Duterte’s claims of an assassination attempt against her as fake, as both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) both said there were no credible threats against the vice president.

“The supposed assassination threats against VP Duterte are fake—completely unfounded and baseless,” Acidre said.

“They are as fabricated as the names ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ and ‘Kokoy Villamin’, which were used to justify the alleged misuse of confidential funds,” he further said.

“If there were threats, the only one we’ve heard making them is the vice president herself,” he said.

Let DOJ decide VP Sara’s criminal liability over assassination threats

House leaders said they will leave it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to decide on Duterte’s criminal liability over the death threat against President Marcos, his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Romualdez.

“We’re not the ones who are going to tell the Justice department to do their work,” Bataan 1st District Representative Geraldine Roman said.

“We should let our government agencies do their work freely, independently, with transparency and with honesty,” Roman stressed.