The members of the House of Representatives have their own way of thinking.
House Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V had this to say in response to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero's remark wherein he insinuated that congressmen blindly follow Speaker Martin Romualdez's whims on the impeachment issue.
"Wala pong inuutos samin si Speaker (The Speaker didn't give us any orders)," Ortega told House reporters in a chance interview on Thursday, June 5.
On Wednesday, June 4, Escudero suggested in a Senate interview that there were House members whose job was to blindly follow Romualdez, who supposedly wanted clarification on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Escudero’s remarks made it appear that it was Romualdez who pushing for the conduct of the impeachment trial, which was supposed to be held at the Senate.
"Hindi naman po ganun. Sabi ko nga, may kanya-kanyang pong pag-iisip ang mga congressman (That is not the case. As I said, each congressman has their own way of thinking)," said the La Union lawmaker.
"Hindi naman po tatagal ng ganyan yung mga kasama namin dito sa Kamara...kanya-kanyang po kasing districts, hindi naman po magiging seasoned politicians yan kung the mere na, susunod na lang po sila," he underscored.
(Our colleagues in the House wouldn't last that long here... Each represents their own district, and they wouldn’t be seasoned politicians if they merely just followed along.)
The complaint containing the seven impeachment charges against Vice President Duterte was signed by 215 House members, more than double the 103 required for a petition to go directly to the Senate for trial.
The House transmitted this document to the Senate way back on Feb. 5. After four months, the Senate has yet to hold the impeachment trial.
"At the end of the day, nandyan po ang Constitution, at kami pong mga congressman mayroon naman po kaming kanya-kanyang panananaw, kanya-kanyang opinyon. At gaya po ng mga opinyon ng mga counterparts namin sa Senate ay nirerespeto rin po namin sila at dapat respetuhin rin po nila yung opinyon namin dito sa Kamara.
(At the end of the day, the Constitution is there, and we congressmen each have our own perspectives and opinions. Just as we respect the views of our counterparts in the Senate, they should also respect our opinions here in the House.)