Aquino has not committed impeachable offense–Palace

President Benigno Aquino III. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Wednesday insisted that President Benigno Aquino III should not be impeached because he has done nothing to merit it.

“We believe that the president has not committed any impeachable offense,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told Palace reporters.

“There will be accusers, the question is, is there basis for that? We believe there is no basis for that,” he added.

The House committee on justice recently found three impeachment complaints sufficient in form. Two of the complaints accused Aquino of betraying public trust and violating the constitution for implementing the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) while the third tackled the Enhanced Defense Acceleration Program (Edca).

“When they go through sufficiency of substance, when they go through the allegations of the impeachment complaints, that they will see that there is no merit; that the President has committed an impeachable offense,” Lacierda said.

He said that while they do not agree with the allegations, they respect the impeachment process as dictated by the Constitution.

He also said they were not worried that it will truly lead to Aquino’s impeachment.

“We’re not concerned about the impeachment complaint proceedings right now, although it is a very important proceeding in the House. What we’re more concerned with is really how to address all the concerns of the country that affect our countrymen,” Lacierda said.

Asked if it would tarnish Aquino’s “Daang Matuwid (Straight Path)” campaign, he said, “It is not an affront only because it’s a process that is enshrined in the Constitution.”

“The greater Filipino people, majority of the Filipino people are with us in the ‘tuwid na daan,’” he said.

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