Sen. Leila de Lima (Photo from her Facebook page)
Sen. Leila de Lima has “serious reservations” on the decision of Liberal Party (LP) lawmakers not to support the impeachment bid against President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, De Lima, who is also an LP member, said: “I hope that my partymates will uphold the oath each one of us took before the Filipino electorate to fight tyranny and corruption by defending the rule of law, civil liberties, and human rights.”
Last Friday, Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo issued a statement saying that the LP met last week and decided not to support any impeachment moves either against Duterte or Vice President Leni Robredo, who is LP chairman.
“We eventually discussed the issue of impeachment. We came to a common consensus on the following matters: we strongly believe that the taking up by the HOR (House of Representatives) of any impeachment complaint today will only be divisive as well as polarizing,” Quimbo said in his statement.
“It will only serve to distract us from the many important matters that Congress should be giving priority to,” he said. “For these very imperative reasons, the LP House majority caucus members present categorically took a position that we will not support any of the impeachment complaints filed against the leaders of the land.”
In reaction, De Lima said: “I regard with serious reservations the decision of some members of the Liberal Party, especially those belonging to the so-called ‘supermajority coalition’ in Congress, to refrain from extending their support to the impeachment complaint filed against President Duterte.”
The senator believes the accusations contained in the impeachment complaint filed by Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano against the President are “serious enough to warrant, at the very least, the opportunity to be heard, and for the evidence offered to be carefully examined within the bounds of constitutionally-guaranteed processes.”
“We owe it to the Filipino people who elected us to be given the chance to participate in the national discourse of exacting accountability from our impeachable public officials, regardless of the outcome,” De Lima said. “Apathy, however, will only embolden those already abusive of their power and position.” /atm/rga