‘You can’t have bloodbath through proxies’

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition and militant lawmakers from the House of Representatives yesterday advised Vice President Sara Duterte to face her impeachment trial squarely and not leave the legal battle to her underlings.

“Welcome to the bloodbath, Madam Vice President. But you cannot have a bloodbath through proxies. Let us join the impeachment trial and face the truth,” House prosecutor and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said.

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago told the VP to stop spreading drama and propaganda by using one-liner quotes and focus instead on making substantial defenses.

“Instead of giving clear explanations, Duterte chose to play the victim in this case and make this a personal drama in a constitutional process that requires accountability,” Elago observed.

Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio seconded Elago, slamming Duterte for her theatrics.

“She’s the bully who hires an assassin to kill her political enemies, misspends public funds and accumulates hidden wealth,” the opposition lawmaker said.

House prosecution spokesperson and Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co said Duterte is far from being the victim in this instance.

“The victim here is the people. The victims are those who weren’t given adequate public service. The funds could have been allocated there but instead they went to the confidential and intelligence funds. Up until now, where those funds went remains unanswered. Until now, the unexplained wealth that came and went into the accounts of Vice President Sara remains unaccounted for,” she said at a press conference.

For House prosecution adviser and former lawmaker Robert Ace Barbers, Duterte has no right to squander the people’s money regardless of how many votes she received in the polls.

“The Constitution does not exempt anyone from accountability simply because they received millions of votes,” he argued. “If there are allegations of violations of the Constitution or other laws, the impeachment process exists to determine whether those charges have merit.”

Barbers was responding to Duterte’s chief defense counsel Shiela Sison, who claimed on Monday that removing their client from office is like ignoring the massive 32.2 million Filipinos who voted for her in 2022. — Daphne Galvez