De Lima: Congress will have time for impeachment ‘if they wanted to’
Vice President Sara Duterte answers questions from reporters during the media thanksgiving party at the Office of the Vice President headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, December 11, 2024. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Leila De Lima argued that “if they wanted to,” the 19th Congress could have time to process the three impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte over a month after they were filed.
“Every day that you are sitting on these impeachment complaints, most Filipinos trust Congress less because it’s supposed to be your duty,” De Lima said in a press conference on Thursday.
“Is there still time? That’s on them now. They can have time if they’d want it. That’s why we’re urgently appealing to them,” she added.
The conference saw the sectoral and religious groups behind all three complaints in a joint appearance after a mass with supporters at the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) Shrine, calling on the House to expedite impeachment proceedings.
READ: Complainants urge House: Impeaching VP Duterte is ‘moral obligation’
De Lima, who was among the signatories of the first complaint, maintained that lawmakers must complete the proceedings before the end of the 19th Congress, especially after its inquiries into Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds.
“Will we just forget the findings of those inquiries? It’s still fresh, the issues are still very much alive now. So, we have the momentum,” she said in Filipino.
“Anything can happen after the election. There may even be so much more issues that we’ll forget the issues surrounding VP Sara, so we’d much rather deal with this now, within the 19th Congress,” she added.
House lawmakers last September opened an inquiry into Duterte’s confidential fund expenditures following irregularities seen in Commission on Audit (COA) reports on the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was still its chief.
READ: Uncharted waters: House tries to extract accountability from Dutertes
Discoveries made at the inquiry’s hearings over the months prompted sectoral groups led by Akbayan to file the first impeachment complaint against Duterte on Dec. 2.
Progressive groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan filed the second complaint on Dec. 4, then religious groups and lawyers filed the third on Dec. 19.
However, the House adjourned its session from Dec. 21 to Jan. 12 for the holidays. It is set to adjourn again from Feb. 8 to June 1 amid the 2025 national and local elections.
READ: Akbayan solon: Delays in impeachment raps further ‘embolden’ VP Duterte
Before the gathering of impeachment complainants on Thursday afternoon, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña said delays in the proceedings “embolden” Duterte, after she reportedly declared she was “seriously considering” a 2028 run for the presidency.
