Palace urges neutrality among senator-judges after Robin, Imee's KL trip with Sara

Malacañang on Friday urged some senator-judges to show neutrality and not their personal biases in the wake of the pending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.  

At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked for comment on Senators Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla openly expressing their support for the Vice President at an event in Kuala Lumpur on Independence Day.

''Sa batas naman po, sinasabi na kapag kayo ay tumayong senator-judges, dapat mayroon kayong neutrality, dapat hindi bias. Sa ngayon po, harap-harapang ipinapakita ang biases,'' Castro said.

(Under the law, if you're sitting as senator-judges, you should be neutral and not biased. At present, they're showing their biases.) 

''Sana po, igalang nila ang taumbayan at magpakita naman ng kaunting kahihiyan, dahil ang sinisilbihan nila ay ang taumbayan, hindi para sa iisang tao lamang,'' she added. 

(I hope they respect the public and show some shame because they are serving the nation and not just one individual.) 

The two senators were with Sara Duterte during her trip to Malaysia.

As seen in Raffy Tima’s report on “24 Oras,” Padilla went up on stage during the event, attended by overseas Filipino workers, and declared Sara Duterte as the next president of the Philippines.

“Gusto ko muna kong mabigay-pugay unang-una sa susunod na pangulo na si Inday Sara Duterte,” Padilla said, followed by the chanting of “Duterte” by the audience.

“Ang sarap! Kapag sinisagaw mo lalo akong tumatapang eh!” he added.

Imee Marcos called for support for Sara Duterte.

“Samahan ninyo ako na tayong lahat, sa likod ni VP Inday Sara Duterte, ay maninindigan para sa bayan, para sa konstitusyon, para sa ating bansa, dahil tayo ay malayang mamayang Pilipino, ang mga tunay na hukom ng bayan,” Imee Marcos said.

(Let us join together, behind VP Inday Sara Duterte, to stand for the country, for the Constitution, because we are free Filipino citizens, the true judges of this country.)

Imee Marcos also referred to the robes of senator-judges that she, Padilla, and Sen. Cynthia opted not to don on Wednesday night.

“Alam po ninyo, dalawang gabi, isang gabi, hilo na kami. Tumayo kami bilang hukom at nagsuot ng damit bilang hukom. Nakita siguro ng iba sa inyo. Pero kami, mga pasaway ni Robin, hindi kami nagsuot. Ayaw namin nun, pangit. It's not my color. Alam po ninyo, ang totoo, tumayo kami pagkat kaakibat ng kalayaan ang responsibilidad na maging patas at marangal,” she added.

(You know, two nights, one night, we’re dizzy. We stood as judges and wore the robes. Some may have seen it, but Robin and I were being naughty. We did not wear it. We don’t want it, it's ugly. It’s not my color. You know, the truth is, we stood up because with freedom comes the responsibility to be fair and honorable.)

The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, returned the impeachment complaint against the Vice President back to the House of Representatives, but without dismissing or terminating the Articles of Impeachment.

The motion was approved with 18 affirmative, five negative votes, and zero abstentions.

Sara Duterte was impeached by the House on February 5, with more than 200 congressmen endorsing the verified complaint against her.

The Vice President stands accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. She has since denied the allegations. 

The Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) has called out the Senate for its move, saying that this action raises constitutional concerns. –NB, GMA Integrated News