Manila, Philippines – On the second day of the House Justice Committee’s deliberations on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, the panel discussed the contents of the third impeachment complaint as part of the process in determining its sufficiency in substance.
Earlier, the committee declared the third and fourth impeachment complaints as sufficient in form—with the first rap set aside due to violation of one year bar ruling, and the second case withdrawn.
ML Partylist Representative Leila De Lima, endorser of the third impeachment case, presented the five constitutional grounds cited in the case, including the six specific grounds noted by the group of lawyers and clergy that filed the case.
The hearing went on for over five hours of deliberations, with the members of the committee actively discussing every grounds of the case, as well as the allegations under it.
The committee noted that it is important that the panel determine that the impeachment proceedings are not politically inclined.
Among those discussed is whether Duterte has direct participation and influence over the alleged anomalous disbursements of the confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The committee also sought clarification on whether the panel has jurisdiction on the alleged confidential funds misuse in DepEd, citing that the secretary position is not among the impeachable officials.
Members of the committee also had mixed positions on the allegations against Duterte’s supposed assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The committee meanwhile suspended the hearing without deciding yet on the sufficiency in substance of the third complaint, and will wait for the discussion of the fourth impeachment complaint set on Wednesday.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News