VP Sara Duterte's impeach complainants won't reply to her answer to House panel

Impeachment complainants led by Rev. Fr. Joel Saballa filed Tuesday a waiver manifesting their intention not to file reply to the answer submitted by the camp of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

In a three-page Manifestation of Waiver to File a Reply, the complainants said Duterte's 15-page Consolidated Verified Answer Ad Cautelam submitted to the House committee on justice “conspicuously failed to specifically deny each and every material allegation in the 98-page impeachment complaint."

"Complainants deem it unnecessary to file a reply thereto,” the manifestation read.

The complainants added that despite the gravity of the accusations against her and the public character of the fund she is charged of misappropriating, Duterte "ultimately said nothing to defend herself."

Their lawyer, Atty Amando Virgil Ligutan said the manifestation was electronically filed and received at 11:02 a.m., Tuesday. 

Duterte's camp filed the Vice President's answer to the impeachment complaint on Monday.

Atty. Michael Poa said the reply was "ad cautelam" or filed as a precaution because Duterte's camp did not see the need to answer the complaint as it had no "ultimate facts" that would support the allegations against her.

The Duterte camp asked the House justice panel to dismiss the impeachment complaints against her, saying the allegations against her were not impeachable offenses.  

—AOL, GMA Integrated News