PDP-Laban slams VP impeachment

THE political party of former president Rodrigo Duterte has condemned the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte by the House of Representatives. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) said the House decision to impeach the vice president is the "clearest manifestation of dirty politics" in the country. It expressed "its extreme disgust and condemnation over the railroaded and sham impeachment" of Duterte "less than halfway into a 6-year term where she received 32.2 million votes, the most votes cast for a candidate in the history of the Philippines." "Through this railroaded impeachment complaint, they wish to sweep under the rug the unprecedented scandals that have enraged the public," it said. "They also [want to] destroy the chances of VP Sara Duterte in seeking a higher office in 2028." PDP-Laban also pointed out that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself told the House to stop the impeachment complaint and to address more serious problems facing the country. "Why not address the growing discontent and frustration across the country resulting from the worsening peace and order, graft and corruption, and poverty?" it said. The party called on voters to "choose wisely" on election day on May 12, particularly candidates for the Senate "where the fate of VP Sara will be decided." "At the end of the day, impeachment is a numbers game and the more allies she has in the Senate, the better for our country," it said. Meanwhile, Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña on Friday said Vice President Duterte's "God save the Philippines" remark is ironic coming from a politician like her. In a statement posted by the party-list's Facebook page, Cendaña said Duterte's statement came from someone who has "consistently failed to save public funds from misuse, protect education from corruption, and defend our fisherfolk and frontliners from China's harassment in the West Philippine Sea." He said if anyone should be saying "God save the Philippines," it is the people "suffering from her and her family's corruption, incompetence and impunity." "If the Vice President is seeking salvation, she should start with truth and accountability. Instead of invoking God to evade responsibility, she must answer for the millions in confidential funds, her failure to stand against China's aggression, and her lack of compassion for Filipinos in crisis," Cendaña said. Former senator Leila de Lima, meanwhile, doubted if the Senate is ready to try Sara Duterte. "The Constitution mandates that the [impeachment] trial must begin right away after the filing of the articles of impeachment to prevent delays in the trial of any senator allied with the impeached government official. Delaying this is like nullifying the impeachment by the House of Representatives," de Lima wrote in Filipino. She made the remarks after Senate President Francis Escudero adjourned the Senate without addressing the Duterte impeachment trial. "The real issue still is delay by the Senate. Simply inexcusable and can be considered a culpable violation of the Constitutional directive to 'forthwith' start the trial. Otherwise, Senate can just delay or defeat any impeachment by refusing to hold trial immediately. The Constitution clearly does not allow this," de Lima said.