House prosecution eyes endorsing bribery allegations vs VP Sara to DOJ, Ombudsman

The House prosecution panel on Saturday raised the possibility of referring the bribery allegations against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Huwag kayong mawalan ng pag-asa dito sa bribery,” House lead prosecutor Representative Gerville Luistro said during a news forum in Quezon City.

(Don’t lose hope regarding the bribery allegations.)

Luistro made the statement after the House prosecution team filed a manifestation with the Senate impeachment court withdrawing Article III, which covers the bribery allegations, from the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

“Kung kailangan [If necessary], we will be making the necessary endorsement so that the Ombudsman or the DOJ can conduct the preliminary investigation for the possible filing of the case of bribery against respondent [Duterte] and officials [of] DepEd [Department of Education],” Luistro said.

The House prosecution panel has already presented evidence on three of the four articles of impeachment originally filed against Duterte.

These include Article IV, which covers the alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Article I, which concerns the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

The Senate impeachment court is currently taking up Article II, which concerns the allegations of unexplained wealth.

Article III, meanwhile, accuses Duterte of committing bribery by allegedly giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce them to violate or circumvent procurement and other related laws. –VBL, GMA News