Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, June 16, warned business groups not to use her impending impeachment trial as an excuse for the country’s weak economy and loss of investor confidence.

“Kahit nandiyan o wala yung impeachment, wala talagang investor confidence dito sa ating bayan (Whether the impeachment is there or not, there is no investor confidence in our country),” she said during a press conference in Davao City.

“Kung nakikita niyo, bagsak ang foreign direct investment sa ating bayan kaya huwag nila ako gawing rason kung bakit pangit ang takbo ng ating ekonomiya ngayon sa ating bayan (If you can see, foreign direct investment is in a slump in our country so don’t turn me into the reason why our economy is weak),” she added.

This was her response to the powerful Makati Business Club (MBC), which called for the convening of the impeachment court, citing public accountability and long-term consequence of investor confidence if rule of law was not upheld.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) also voiced its concerns over the move of the Senate impeachment court to remand the articles of impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives, adding that the trial must proceed for the integrity of the country’s democratic processes.

Duterte questioned how accountability could be gained from an impeachment trial when the penalties are removal from office and perpetual disqualification from government service.

“Walang penalties diyan, walang kaso diyan. Ang impeachment ay removal process ng isang impeachable officer. Kung gusto talaga nila ng accountability ay mag-file ng mga kaso diyan sa mga korte (There are no penalties and no case there. The impeachment is a removal process of the impeachable officer. If they want accountability, they should file a case in the court),” she explained.

The Vice President likewise claimed that lawmakers did not even read the articles of impeachment and that many received “budget” or “money” in exchange of their signatures.

“In fact, madami sa kanila ang umamin na may kapalit iyong kanilang pagpirma doon sa articles of impeachment (many of them admitted that there’s a reward for signing the articles of impeachment),” she said.

“So, if we are to talk about accountability by business groups, dapat kwestyonin din natin kung paano ginawa iyong articles of impeachment at paano pinasa iyong articles of impeachment papunta doon sa Senado (we should also question how the articles of impeachment were drafted and transmitted to the Senate),” Duterte furthered.

Her impeachment trial has yet to commence before the Senate impeachment court after the senator-judges voted 18-5 to remand the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives.

While the lower chamber adopted House Resolution No. 2346, which reaffirmed that the impeachment complaint strictly complied with all constitutional requirements, it has yet to transmit the resolution to the Senate pending clarifications.