Leviste told: Bigger budget for pro-impeachment lawmakers false

MANILA, Philippines — At least two lawmakers have shot down allegations by Batangas Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste about lawmakers supportive of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment being given bigger allocations, saying that such claims are baseless and have no proof.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said that claims of lawmakers getting either money or additional budget are lies meant to distract the people from the real issue at hand — the allegations that led to Duterte’s impeachment.

“There is no basis; no one talked to me, let alone gave me any incentives, monetary or otherwise. So that is merely speculation, and it is an attempt to destroy the reputation of the House of Representatives as an institution,” de Lima said when asked about claims made on Monday by some lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

READ: LOOK: How your congressman voted in Sara Duterte impeachment case

“This diverts us from the real issue, because they should be the ones answerable; their allies have to be held accountable.  So they should be the ones to explain to the people the issues involving charges against the vice president, and refrain from reversing the scenario, and making reckless imputations against the members of the House of Representatives,” she added.

During the session on Monday — before the impeachment vote — Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor also clarified that such allegations, including those made by Sen. Imee Marcos, are not true.

Marcos made several claims regarding the House’s impeachment proceedings: Over the weekend, the senator claimed that the current administration is coercing lawmakers to vote in favor of Duterte’s impeachment, which Malacañang denied.

On Monday, Marcos said that she heard that lawmakers voting for the impeachment may get up to P20 million, claims that were mentioned by Leviste during deliberations on the committee report that contains the articles of impeachment.

“Senator Imee Marcos said those who vote for the impeachment will get P20 million, and I just want to make it clear if this is true or not because if it is true, then it should be made public,” Leviste said.

“And if some are getting the P20 million and others are not getting the P20 million, then it should at least be fair that everyone who votes gets P20 million — and those who do not vote hopefully should also be given that because this is taxpayers’ money and should not be allocated on the basis of your vote on the impeachment,” he added.

Defensor, in response, said this was not true.

“Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all the members of the House of Representatives, we categorically deny any statement made by Sen. Imee Marcos. Mr. Speaker, may I request the Honorable Legarda instead to proceed with his interpellation regarding the resolution and the articles of impeachment?” Defensor said.

The senior deputy majority leader also allayed Leviste’s fears that lawmakers who would vote against the impeachment would be stripped of their projects.

“Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House, we categorically deny any such allegations, and we would like to thank the Honorable Legarda for his pursuit of accountability and transparency,” Defensor said.

“No one should lose their benefits for their vote today,” Leviste said.

READ: Cayetano vows to act ‘forthwith’ on impeachment process: We won’t delay

Eventually, a total of 257 lawmakers voted in favor of Committee Report (CR) No. 261 from the House committee on justice, effectively impeaching Duterte. Only 25 members, including Leviste, voted against the committee report, while nine abstained.

The 257 votes gathered is way over half of what is required under Article XI, Section 3(3) of the 1987 Constitution, which states that a one-third vote of all House members is needed to affirm or override the recommendation from the committee to impeach an impeachable official.

With 318 members in the House, one-third is just 106 members, which means the House had gone way above the threshold.

According to CR No. 261, the two complaints’ allegations were consolidated into four grounds:

• culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust through the systematic liquidation misuse, misappropriation, and irregularities in the disbursement of confidential funds amounting to P500 million under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million under the Department of Education (DepEd)
• culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust when Duterte amassed unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official
• bribery, graft, and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust when she gave monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws
• culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, and betrayal of public trust by contracting for the assassination of the President, the First Lady, and the former speaker of the House, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic. /das /atm