Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo from the Office of the Vice President)
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo is ready to face any impeachment cases that will be filed against her for supporting the United Nation Human Right Council’s (UNHRC) probe into the government’s drug war, her spokesperson said on Sunday.
“Ang taong walang kasalanan, walang kinakatakot sa imbestigasyon. Paulit-ulit na ring sinabi ni VP Leni: ‘Kung gusto ninyo mag-file ng impeachment, sige lang. Handa akong harapin iyan.’ ‘Di ba? Dahil naka-angkla iyan sa Konstitusyon,” Lawyer Barry Gutierrez said on Robredo’s weekly radio show.
“Kung tingin talaga ng ating mga kinatawan sa Kamara de Representante ay may batayan, eh ‘di handa siyang harapin, dahil alam naman niya na wala siyang maling ginagawa, tapat niyang tinutupad ang kaniyang sinumpaan sa ilalim ng ating Konstitusyon,” he added.
Guiterrez statement came after Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Manuelito Luna said that Robredo could be impeached for her “expression of support to the UNHRC resolution” and for “betrayal of public trust.”
“For the nth time, she has made it appear that the government is guilty of human rights abuses, and that’s betrayal of public trust. It’s about time that she should be held to account for her political sins against the Filipino people,” Luna said.
The resolution to conduct a probe over alleged human rights violation filed by Iceland was approved by the UNHRC on July 11, with 18 countries voted in favor of the draft resolution, 14 voted against, and 15 abstentions.
According to Gutierrez, the statement of Luna was just to gain popularity.
“Feeling ko talaga ang punto naman talaga diyan, para sumikat, eh. Kasi ang impeachment, iyan ay isang proseso na nagsisimula sa Kongreso. Sa pagkakaintindi ko, hindi naman miyembro ng Kongreso itong taong ito,” he said
As for Luna’s comment on Robredo’s betraying the public’s trust, Gutierrez said that the vice president could not be found guilty on the said allegation.
“Kapag binanggit natin betrayal of public trust na isa na namang batayan sa impeachment, usually ito ‘yung my kinalaman sa paglabag dun sa iyong oath of office. Anong bahagi noong oath of office na nilabag? Tayo ay bahagi nga ng iyong human rights council,” he said. /je