Barry Gutierrez. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
The mere fact that no member of the House of Representatives is coming forward to claim that he or she endorsed the impeachment against Vice President Leni Robredo shows that the complaint is “weak and baseless,” Robredo’s camp said on Wednesday.
Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s legal adviser, said the complaint by the group called “Impeach Leni Movement” was only part of a demolition campaign against the Vice President.
“Kung walang kongresistang nagnanais na mag-sponsor ng kanilang impeachment complaint, ipinapakita lamang nito na mahina at walang basehan ang kanilang reklamo,” Gutierrez said in a statement to the media.
(If now lawmaker wants to sponsor their impeachment complaint, this only shows that it is weak and baseless.)
“Hindi na nakakabigla ang pagpasa ng reklamong impeachment kay Vice President Leni Robredo. Ito ay bahagi ng isang malawakang kampanya upang siya ay siraan at tangkaing makuha ang mandatong ibinigay sa kaniya ng taumbayan noong nakaraang eleksyon,” he said.
(That there are those who want Vice President Leni Robredo impeached is no longer surprising. This is part of an extensive campaign to malign her and take away the mandate given to her by the people in the last election.)
The complainants led by lawyer Bruce Rivera insisted that the complaint was “received” by a congressman but he declined to identify him.
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Rep. Jericho Nograles said he was approached by two lawyers with the impeachment complaint bearing his name without his consent.
“They said they were the complainants of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo. And when presented with the complaint, I was surprised to see my name on the complaint,” Nograles said.
Nograles, brother of Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, chair of the appropriations committee, said he told the two lawyers to leave his office because they were using his name without his consent.
As of Wednesday, no one has admitted to endorsing the complaint.
The basis of impeachment raps, accusing Robredo of betraying public trust and graft and corruption, are all lies, he said.
“Ang sinasabing mga basehan ng reklamo laban kay VP Leni ay pawang kasinungalingan lamang (Their bases for their complaint against VP Leni are nothing but lies),” Gutierrez said.
Misusing housing fund
The group also accused Robredo of using Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-Ibig Fund to sponsor a national convention in the United States which she attended in August last year.
Robredo previously headed the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) in July until she resigned from President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet in December.
But Robredo’s camp maintained that her track record is clean.
“Ang track record ni VP Leni ay malinis at walang bahid ng kurapsyon. Walang ginastos na pondong gobyerno sa kaniyang pagpunta sa Estados Unidos noong Agosto 2016, at mas lalong walang perang nagmula sa HUDCC o anumang ahensiya na nasa ilalim nito,” Gutierrez said.
(VP Leni’s track record is clean and has no tinge of corruption. She did not use any government funds in her trip to the United States in August 2016. She did not use funds from the HUDCC or any agency under it.) IDL