Even the head lawyer of President Duterte believes the impeachment of Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo will only disrupt the enactment of the Duterte administration’s priority measures.
In an interview with Malacañang reporters on Monday, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said Duterte will not interfere in the legal proceedings of the impeachment because he himself does not want the grievance to progress.
“Personally, he [Duterte] doesn’t want it. As far as he is concerned, it will derail the focus of both subjects of impeachment,” Panelo said.
Panelo said lawmakers are concerned that the impeachment proceedings would divert their attention away from more pressing legislative matters.
“Even members of the Congress are saying that if they concentrate on the impeachment, their concern for other measures, which are probably more important, will be affected,” he said.
Earlier, House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez said he is keen on impeaching the vice president.
However, Panelo said it is still up to Congress if it wants to push through with its plan to prosecute Robredo. He said if lawmakers “feel the impeachment is important, then they [should] prioritize it.”
Last week Malacañang and Congress have firmed up a list of 10 priority bills, including the tax-reform measure, to be fast-tracked for approval when lawmakers resume regular sessions on May 2, after a six-week recess.
Apart from the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which provides downward adjustments in personal income- and corporate income-tax rates, the Legislative-Executive priority list includes bills on condonation of land amortization and arrears on interest payment, revised base pay schedule of military and uniformed personnel, pension reform for uniformed personnel and the security of tenure bill.
In addition, Senate and House officials also agreed to speed up the passage of “common priority bills” of Malacañang and Congress: on utilization of the coconut levy fund, Occupational Safety and Health Hazards Compliance Act, National Mental Health Act, Unified National Identification System Act and the National Transport Act intended to address the transport-traffic crisis.
At least four of the 10 agreed priority bills were reported to be “in the advanced stage of the Legislative process”, which means these are now ready for plenary consideration when sessions resume on May 2, including the coco-levy fund utilization, the National Transport Act, Occupational Safety and Health Hazards Compliance Act and the National Mental Health Act.