Palace: Bid to impeach Duterte seems to be part of destabilization plot

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:36 p.m.) — Malacañang reacted to the filing of an impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, saying that the move seems to be part of an outline to destabilize the government.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the move of Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano to file an impeachment complaint against the president at the administration-dominated House of Representatives seems to be a part of “a larger scheme of things.”

When asked to clarify what he meant, Abella said: “It just seems rather dramatic that everything seems coordinated at this stage with acts of trying to discredit the administration and throw it in doubt.”

Abella also did not discount the possibility that Vice President Leni Robredo could be part of the moves to remove the president from office.

“Wala po akong sinasabing hindi siya kasama. Ang sinasabi lang natin mukhang may mga kaganapan na sabay-sabay nangyayari. Pero mukhang napakalinis ng mga kaganapan,” Abella said in answering a question on whether Robredo was not part of destabilization attempts.

Alejano cited Duterte’s possible violation of the Constitution, engagement in bribery and “other high crimes” as stipulated in Sections 2 and 3 of the 1987 Constitution as grounds for the complaint.

He detailed that there were five bases for the ouster of Duterte, and the strongest among these was the “state policy of killing drug offenders.”

“Yung pagpapatay ng mga Pilipino na hindi man lang dumaan sa proseso, democratic processes na mayroon tayo sa ngayon, ang paglabag ng rule of law and due process. At mahigit na po 8,000 ang namatay sa ngayon,” he said at a news conference at the House.

Palace: EJKs not state-sponsored

Abella belied all these allegations, saying that the president did not commit any of the grounds for impeachment stated in the Constitution.

“First and foremost no treason, betrayal of trust, bribery, graft and corruption high crime and culpable violation of the Constitution has been committed. We reiterate so-called extrajudicial [killings] are not state-sponsored,” the presidential spokesman said.

He also gave assurance that the president would not turn a blind eye to police authorities who would violate and abuse their power.

“The administration upholds due process and is ready for the consequences of its actions that take considerations above all the interest of the Filipino people,” he said.

Abella also refused to directly link the latest move against the president to the video message of Robredo at the United Nations narcotics forum. He reiterated that events just seemed “well coordinated to just be coincidental.”

Critics told: 'Grow up'

He also clarified that Palace officials were not alarmed and were simply observing what had been happening.

The spokesman said that the impeachment would not deter the government from pursuing nation-building as he called on the public to help the government in this effort.

He also called on critics of the government to “grow up.”

Solicitor General Jose Calida scoffed at the impeachment move of the Magdalo representative, saying the charge would not prosper at the House.

“They must be dreaming. They are not even in the league of Don Quixote. Impeachment won't fly. It will crash like a rudderless plane flown by witless pilots,” Calida said.

He also called Alejano a “toady” of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. — with a report by Kristian Javier