Palace: Alan Cayetano's call to reject VP post premature

Malacañang on Tuesday said it was premature for Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano to urge his fellow senators to reject offers to become vice president should Vice President Sara Duterte be convicted in her impeachment trial.

Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Office of the Vice President should be respected, noting that the impeachment trial was still ongoing and Duterte’s defense team had yet to present its evidence.

“Unang una po ay hindi po dapat pinag-uusapan ang pagpalit kay Bise Presidente sa panahon na ito. Napaka-premature. Para sa akin, igalang natin ang opisina ng Bise Presidente,” Castro said in a press briefing in Cagayan de Oro City.

(First and foremost, the matter of replacing the Vice President should not be discussed at this time. It is highly premature. In my view, we should respect the Office of the Vice President.)

Castro urged senators to let the impeachment proceedings against Duterte run their course, saying President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wanted due process to be observed before any discussion of succession.

“Hindi pa po tapos ang impeachment trial. Hayaan nating gumulong ang proseso. ‘Yun naman ang nais ng Pangulo—gumulong ang proseso, due process," she said.

(The impeachment trial is not yet over. Let the process take its course. That is, in fact, what the President wants—to let the process proceed and due process be observed.)

"So bakit kailangang pag-usapan kaagad ang sino papalit kay Bise Presidente? Hindi pa po tapos ang mga kaganapan sa Senado,” Castro added.

(So why discuss immediately who might replace the Vice President? The proceedings in the Senate have not yet concluded.)

Castro also said Cayetano should not dictate what his fellow senators should do or preempt the President's decision on the matter.

“Wala naman siyang karapatang magdikta sa lahat ng senador kung ano ang gusto ng senador at wala rin siyang karapatang pangunahan ang nais ng Pangulo,” she said.

(He has no right to dictate what the senators should do, nor does he have the right to preempt the President’s decisions.)

Cayetano made the statement in response to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s declaration that he would decline the vice presidency should Duterte be convicted, citing a conflict of interest because he is a senator-judge in her impeachment trial.

Escudero serves as presiding officer of the impeachment court.

Several senators have also said it was too early to make such a declaration, given that the trial was still underway.— MCG, GMA News

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