Palace: Sara Duterte impeachment trial beyond President Marcos' reach

The impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte is beyond the reach of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Friday.

“Maliwanag po ang sinabi ng Pangulo na sa simula po ay ayaw niya talaga po ng impeachment dahil maaaring mayroon pong ibang mga legal na pamamaraan para mapanagot ang dapat mapanagot. Pero ngayon po, ang Bise Presidente po ay impeached na, wala na po sa Pangulo ito,” Castro said during a Palace press briefing.

(What the President said is clear from the very start. He does not favor impeachment because there may be other legal remedies to hold public officials accountable. But now that the Vice President is already impeached, this is out of the President’s hands.)

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, with over 200 congressmen endorsing the complaint against her. She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes mainly over alleged misuse of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds and threatening to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza, and the President’s cousin and Speaker, Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez.

“Iyon naman po ay kaniyang suggestion lang, kung maaari ay ayaw niya ng impeachment. Ang sabi po ng Pangulo, proseso,” Castro added.

(What the President said is a mere suggestion. But he favors due process.)

Further, Castro said that the President does not have the authority over any impeachment proceeding.

“The impeachment trial is not the business of the Executive. Hindi po makikialam ang Pangulo patungkol po diyan, pero sinabi po niya na dapat umandar ang proseso, irespeto ang due process,” Castro said.

(The President won’t meddle with the impeachment process, but the President also said the process should be followed, with respect to due process.)

“So, ito po ay nasa kamay na ng mga prosecutors, nasa kamay na po ng Senado. ‘Pag sinabi po nating proseso, dapat sundin ang batas,” she added.

(The impeachment is in the hands of the prosecutors and the Senate. And when we say process, law should be followed.)

Castro also said the ultimate judge of the public officials’ performance, whether it is the Vice President, senators or the House prosecutors, is the people.

“Ang taumbayan na po ang titingin at maghuhusga sa mga taong nasa loob or maaaring gumalaw para sa impeachment trial. Ang mga prosecutors dapat gampanan ang kanilang trabaho bilang prosecutors; ang mga senador bilang judges ay dapat ding gampanan ang kanilang trabaho bilang senators-judges. Proseso po ang nais ng Pangulo,” Castro said.

(The public will be the one to judge those involved in the impeachment trial. The prosecutors should do their job as prosecutors, the senators should do their job as senator-judges. At the end of the day, what the President wants is due process.)

The Vice President, for her part, said she is looking forward to her impeachment trial in the upcoming 20th Congress because she “wants a bloodbath." —AOL, GMA Integrated News