House deputy majority leader welcomes VP Sara return to PH

House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V on Monday welcomed the return to the Philippines of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying that he expected her to be prepared for her impeachment trial.

“Welcome back po to our VP. Hindi ko alam kung bibigyan niya ako ng pasalubong. Syempre, maganda nakabalik siya kasi nga paghahandahan niya itong mga susunod na buwan," Ortega said in a press briefing. 

(Welcome back to our vice president. I'm not sure if she has something for me from The Hague. It is good that she is back because she will be preparing for the coming months.)

Ortega said the camp of the vice president during the House hearings on confidential funds had been saying that they would present evidence in an impeachment trial.

“Nung na impeach po siya... I'm sure they have been preparing for this,” Ortega said.

The alleged irregular use of confidential funds is one of the articles of impeachment filed against her last February. 

For Ortega, the trial could have been avoided if Sara Duterte addressed the issue during the House’s investigation. 

“Hanggang ngayon wala pa pong sagot. Kaya nga sabi ko sa impeachment na rin siguro magkakaroon ng mas klaro na kasagutan tungkol dito,” Ortega said.

(There are no answers until now. Perhaps, there will be a clearer answer in the impeachment trial.)

In a press briefing last February, Duterte said her team has been preparing for her impeachment since November 2023.

"We've already started preparing the moment [ACT Teachers Partylist Rep.] France Castro announced the impeachment plans which is November of 2023. So November of 2023, there were already lawyers doing their work for the impeachment. We leave it to the lawyers," she earlier said. 

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint.

Sara Duterte has since challenged before the Supreme Court the validity of the impeachment complaint.

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero has said that the decision on the impeachment trial of the Vice President can be rendered by October this year. 

On June 2, the Senate will resume its session and the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment by the prosecutors, and approval of the revised Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials has been set. Duterte's impeachment trial will start on July 30. –NB, GMA Integrated News