Palace: Public will discern who respects, manipulates procedures
Vice President Sara Duterte — Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — The public will discern who respects legal procedures and who tries to manipulate them to derail the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a Palace official said Wednesday.
This was Palace Press Officer Claire Castro’s response when asked for Marcos thoughts regarding talks about the potential dismissal of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
READ: Robin Padilla drafts own reso junking Duterte impeachment case
“First of all, the President is not part of the debate in the Senate. The public will see who is truly following the procedure and who is manipulating it to either evade or push through with the impeachment trial,” she said.
“For now, I’ll repeat: the President is not focused on the impeachment. However, according to the President — and this is a general statement — there really is a need for transparency and accountability among all public servants, not just in relation to the impeachment trial,” she also said.
READ: Sara Duterte impeachment: What you need to know
The Palace also sees no negative impact on Marcos if the impeachment process is dismissed, as he is not involved in the Senate’s debates or deliberations.
“So, even if this is dismissed, as we’ve said, it will be the people who will judge the Senate based on what they did during the impeachment trial,” Castro added.
READ: LIVE UPDATES: Senate sends back impeachment articles to House for review
On Tuesday, the Senate voted 18-5 to return the impeachment articles against Duterte to the House of Representatives. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who filed the motion, clarified that this does not mean the case is dismissed or closed.
The impeachment complaint accuses the second-highest leader of the country of “high crimes,” including corruption and an alleged plot to assassinate Marcos.
The case mainly centers on her use of P125 million in confidential funds just 11 days after taking office in 2022, which lawmakers say violated budget rules and accountability standards. /das
