Stressing that she is answerable to the 32 million Filipinos who voted her to power, Vice President Sara Duterte dismissed on Wednesday, Sept. 25, a suggestion by the so-called “Young Guns” in the House of Representatives for her to resign.
Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media during a press conference held in her Mandaluyong City office on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Raymund Antonio/MANILA BULLETIN)
“Hindi naman kasi ako sasagot sa Young Guns dahil kailangan ko sumagot sa 32 million na bumoto sa akin, hindi sa isa o dalawa na tao (I will not answer to these Young Guns because I need to answer to the 32 million who voted for me, not to one or two persons),” she said during a press conference held in her Mandaluyong City office.
“I will not resign because I was put here by the people believing that I will work for the country,” she added in a mix of Filipino and English.
Duterte was responding to Ako-Bicol Partylist Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalo, who said the official was seemingly uninterested in “her duties and functions” as vice president and can be asked to quit.
House Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd district Rep. David Suarez also said this sentiment is shared by “a lot of members” of the House.
But the Vice President has her own theory as to why lawmakers are urging her to resign.
“So, apparently sa pakiramdam ko sa tingin ko sa mga nangyayari, wala silang kaso for impeachment kaya sila andiyan, kaya sila sige hanap nang hanap ng kung anong gagamitin nila (I feel that with what’s happening, they don’t have a case for impeachment so they’re looking for what to use against me),” Duterte explained.
She pointed to ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of her father, as the ones behind a push to impeach her.
But another “track,” as the Vice President described, was for some lawmakers to suggest that she has been dismissive of her duties and should resign from her post.
After skipping the plenary hearing for the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget on Monday, Sept. 23, the official was given another chance by lawmakers to attend the hearing today, Wednesday.
Duterte, however, said she would just attend the Senate budget deliberations.
The Vice President had been accusing lawmakers, including the House good government committee, of politicizing her office’s budget request and plotting her impeachment to derail a potential 2028 presidential bid.