Manila, Philippines — The committee report containing the impeachment articles against Vice President Sara Duterte have been referred to the House Plenary, following the unanimous approval from the Justice Committee.
The plenary voting is expected next week, with some lawmakers expressing confidence that the impeachment complaints will get the necessary amount of votes to proceed in the next impeachment process.
Amid this, allegations of bribery and threats were spread within the Congress, with lawmakers allegedly threatened to vote in favor of the impeachment, or risk losing their district funds.
In VP Sara’s end, she said that if the bribery claims are true, the fund should be used instead in supporting the economically-challenged Filipino families.
Duterte emphasized that politics should be set aside especially when the country is facing a serious crisis.
She added that the government has no more money to be left, if it will be used for bribery attempts.
The Vice President said that “ayuda” should not be considered as a solution to crisis situations, and that Filipinos will be burdened more if the government has no clear direction.
In the talks of impeachment, Duterte argued that she is not a vindictive person.
This follows the claims that lawmakers will vote for the impeachment with the fear of Duterte being vindictive.
She added that lawmakers should base their votes in the evidence, and not because they are threatened.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News