Vice President Sara Duterte (MB File Photo)
The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday, Feb 2, that it is ready to “confront” the fresh impeachment case file against her that it dismissed as not surprising at all.
Duterte is being challenged anew after House members filed an impeachment complaint for the second time since she assumed office four years ago.
That means that the Vice President will not be safe from being removed from office despite the Supreme Court’s back-to-back decision, declaring and upholding that the previous impeachment case filed against her as unconstitutional.
In a statement, Duterte’s defense team said, the present case lacks "factual and legal basis."
“We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes, confident that a fair and impartial review will demonstrate that the accusations are devoid of both factual and legal basis," it said.
Two groups on Monday filed separate cases against the Vice President for various grounds of impeachment, including betrayal of public trust, misuse of funds, and obstruction of audit, which where then endorsed by the Makabayan bloc.
The new cases did not wait until four days when SC finally lifts the one-year-ban on filing a new impeachment against her.
Duterte’s camp, led by lawyer, Michael Poa, said the complaint came “as no surprise."
"As the Supreme Court has recently emphasized, impeachment is “not merely a political process initiated by mere allegations or by perceived public acclaim shaped by the propagandistic effect of timed press releases or irresponsible viral posts on social media,” it said.
“It is a constitutional mechanism governed by standards, evidence, and due process," it added.