Want to focus on work? Pimentel dares LP to 'denounce' impeach rap vs Duterte

If they truly want to focus on legislative work, Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Monday challenged Liberal Party (LP) senators to "denounce" the filing of an impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte.

Pimentel said LP senators want to focus on the "basic problems" of the country, but also consider Duterte as one.

"All of a sudden, Duterte is a basic problem of the country kaya agree sila sa impeachment? Walang ganunan," Pimentel said in an interview.

"Let them say that it also distracts them, and that they should be concentrating on the problems," he added.

LP president and Sen. Francis Pangilinan said last week that the filing of an impeachment complaint is part of the constitutional process.

"We swore an oath to uphold and defend the constitution and as such we must respect our constitutional processes whether we agree with it or not, whether we like the outcome or not," Pangilinan said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who belongs to the minority group and an ally of the LP, had also said that impeachment is part of the process of "exacting accountability" and that filing such complaint was the right of any citizen.

The Senate would have to convene as an impeachment court when the House of Representatives approves the complaint filed by Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano against Duterte.

In a statement released earlier in the day, LP senators took a swipe at Pimentel for focusing on House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's threat to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo.

"We urge Senate President Koko Pimentel to focus on the numbers that matter: the thousands of unresolved murders, the rising prices of basic goods, and the 13-million hectare undersea region rich in minerals and biodiversity of Benham Rise," the statement said.

"These are the numbers that we should all be focusing on, not the 100 votes of congressmen on the impeachment case threatened by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Solicitor General Jose Calida on Vice President Robredo," it added.

The other LP senators are Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, Franklin Drilon and Leila de Lima. Senator Ralph Recto, also a member of the LP but is part of the majority bloc, said he has yet to see the statement.

Meanwhile, Pimentel discouraged Calida from offering his services as Solicitor General to Alvarez.

"Gawin na lang ni SolGen in his personal time, personal capacity; not as SolGen para wala nang masabi," he said.

Calida had said that Robredo's video statement about the "palit-ulo" scheme was a "treasonous act." —ALG, GMA News