Palace welcomes LP stance against impeachment bid

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella. KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo (FILE)

Malacañang has welcomed the Liberal Party’s (LP) position not to back the impeachment bid against President Duterte in the House of Representatives, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Sunday.

“Any act to remove him from office is an attempt to subvert the people’s will,” Abella said in a statement, noting that Mr. Duterte was elected into office by no less than 16 million Filipinos.

“In addition, any impeachment process would be counterproductive for the Philippines, which has been described [as] the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia,” he said.

Abella said the government needed “to seize our economic momentum and not be derailed by destructive politics.”

LP lawmakers over the weekend said they would not support any impeachment complaint against the President and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Mr. Duterte is facing an impeachment complaint filed by the Magdalo party-list group over his bloody war on drugs and his alleged mishandling of the South China Sea dispute.