SOLICITOR General Jose C. Calida on Sunday said calls to impeach Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo for betraying the government by slandering President Duterte and his administration before the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs have legal basis.
Calida issued the statement after learning of Robredo’s video message to the UN, where she criticized President Duterte’s war on drugs and claimed more than 7,000 victims of extrajudicial killings by policemen and vigilantes without presenting proof.
Calida described Robredo’s action as a “treasonous act”, adding he supports the plan of House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez to initiate an impeachment complaint against Robredo.
“VP Robredo debased her office and herself by betraying the trust of our people. Worse, she shamelessly pandered to the desperate desire of the Yellow Cult to depose President Duterte, which, if successful, will immensely benefit her. Obviously, the carping VP Robredo has joined the ranks of the destabilizers,” the government chief counsel said.
He agreed with Alvarez that Robredo “should be rightfully condemned for slandering and selling out our country and its leaders before the UN”.
He vowed to lend the legal services of his office, a “tribune of the people”, to help in the planned impeachment of the Vice President, saying it is unfortunate that Robredo now “will reap the people’s wrath and contempt.”
Alvarez announced his plan after linking Robredo to the impeachment complaint filed last Thursday by Party-list Rep. Gary C. Alejano of Magdalo against Duterte. Both Robredo and Alejano denied this allegation.
Alvarez believes the Vice President might have betrayed public trust in her video message to the UN that destroyed the country’s image before the international community. Betrayal of public trust is one of the grounds under the Constitution to impeach an official.
As this developed, Alvarez on Sunday expressed confidence that the House Committee on Justice will dismiss the impeachment complaint filed against Duterte. The Speaker said there is no need to conduct a loyalty check at the lower chamber following the removal of the House leaders who voted against his bill reviving the death penalty.
“There’s no need for loyalty check to junk the impeachment complaint. I also doubt if it will reach the plenary, because, as a lawyer, I see their allegations are weak and pure hearsay,” he said. Last week soldier-turned-lawmaker Alejano filed the first impeachment complaint against Duterte.
Alejano said the impeachment complaint was based on Duterte’s alleged culpable violation of the Constitution—bribery, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes.
Alejano added the leadership should not be complacent, as the supermajority is only good for political interests. “I just want to emphasize that the coalition of political parties in the country is based on the interest of the parties, and it is based on convenience. The moment the interest of a party is not served, the coalition could break up,” Alejano said.
Meanwhile, Nacionalista Party Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr. of Camarines Sur asked his colleagues to shift their focus on passing important measures.
“We need this impeachment complaint like a hole in the head. I believe that we, lawmakers, could better spend our time right now crafting reform laws that would help President Duterte achieve his administration’s goal of sustaining the growth momentum, reducing poverty and transforming our country into an upper middle-income economy by the time his term ends in 2022,” Villafuerte said.
According to Villafuerte, the impeachment complaint filed against Duterte “is an exercise in futility, given his overwhelming support not only in Congress but from the Filipino people, as well.”
“Given that the impeachment process is a numbers game, it is wishful thinking on the part of the President’s critics that they could even reach first base in the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives,” Villafuerte said.
With reports from Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz