Ka Leody says public can pressure Congress to impeach VP Duterte

Then presidential candidate and labor leader Leody de Guzman casts his vote at Cainta Elementary School in this file photo taken on May 9, 2022. Courtesy: Ka Leody De Guzman’s Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — The public clamor to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte can help Congress decide on removing her from office, labor leader and senatorial aspirant Leody de Guzman said on Friday.

According to De Guzman, the public’s stance on Duterte’s impeachment should be developed since he believes that the people should not solely rely on the votes of Congress because of the allies of the Vice President.

“Dahil yung mga tao ay galit talaga sa pagnanakaw ng pera nila, kailangang madevelop yun. Kailangang madevelop yung malakas na pressure ng mamamayan in support dito sa impeachment at huwag lang yung panalo ay kunin sa boto ng Kongreso at Senado,” De Guzman said in a forum in San Juan City.

(The people’s anger towards corruption has to be developed. The pressure of the people in supporting the impeachment needs to be developed and its success should not just account from the votes of the Congress.)

READ: VP Duterte faces 2nd impeach rap; Palace disowns moves

“Kung yung mga boboto sa Kongreso at Senado ay susuportahan ng malakas na pressure ng mamamayan, matatanggal si Sara,” De Guzman added.

(If the votes from the Congress will be supported by the pressure of the public, Sara will be impeached.)

Further, the labor leader said that they are not planning to file another impeachment complaint against Duterte.

“Ang magagawa lang talaga namin ay yung pagkilos, pagsupport, pag-organize at pagpaliwanag sa taumbayan na ang isang gobyerno talaga, dapat gobyernong walang magnanakaw,” he stated.

(What we can do is to organize, support, and explain to the public that corruption should have no place in the government.)

He also expressed that the two complaints previously filed are already enough, emphasizing that the masses’ movement is important.

Representatives from civil society organizations filed two impeachment complaints against Duterte, which were endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña and Makabayan bloc lawmakers Rep. France Castro, Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Rep. Raoul Manuel.

The complaints stemmed from grounds such as betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.

READ: OVP spent over P375M in confidential funds in 2023 – COA

Previous House hearings had been probing the alleged misuse of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

A House probe found out that the OVP and the Department of Education submitted about 4,500 acknowledgement receipts to the Commission on Audit to explain how they used the P612.5 million of confidential funds.