Erice to skip vote on VP Sara impeachment

Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice on Sunday said he will not take part in the voting of the House of Representatives on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Erice told Super Radyo dzBB that he believes the impeachment complaint does not promote accountability but is merely a fight between the two biggest dynasties in the country: the Duterte and the Marcos families.

"Ito ay simpleng agawan ng kapangyarihan ng dalawang political dynasties. Dynasty ng Duterte at dynasty ng Marcos at ayokong maging kabahagi nung mga alipores ng bawat dinastiya sa kanilang laro,” the lawmaker from the 2nd district of Caloocan City said.

(This is simply a power struggle between two political dynasties, the Duterte dynasty and the Marcos dynasty, and I do not want to be part of either dynasty in their game.)

However, Erice clarified that he does not believe Duterte is free from the allegations against her.

“Hindi ko sinasabing walang pagkukulang o pagkakamali si VP Sara, pero sa tingin ko, ayoko maging parte nitong moro-moro na ito na labanan ng mga dinastiya at hindi naman talaga ito sa pagsusulong ng accountability, hindi naman ito sa pagsusulong ng good governance. Ito ay para sa labanan ng mga higante sa pulitika. Pinaghihiwalay ang mga tao,” the lawmaker said.

(I’m not saying that VP Sara has no shortcomings or made no mistakes, but I don’t want to be part of this show between political dynasties. This isn’t really about promoting accountability or advancing good governance. This is a battle among political giants, and it only divides the people.)

On Wednesday, the House justice panel found probable cause to impeach the Vice President based on two impeachment complaints filed against her.

These impeachment complaints accuse her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts:

• Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential fund and using them as bribes
• Threatening to kill President Marcos, Jr. and members of his family, including her desire to remove the head of the Chief Executive
• Alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth.

Bicol Saro Partylist Representative Terry Ridon had expressed confidence that the lower chamber could gather sufficient votes to impeach Duterte.

The House needs at least one-third or 106 out of its total membership of 318 to impeach Duterte.

"Kung ang minimum requirement lang ay 106, tingin ko hindi na 'yun mahirap gawin (If we need the 106 minimum requirement, I think it’s not difficult to achieve)," Ridon said.

"At the very best, we would want to get at the very least 215 minimum number of votes, which is we had gotten the last time noong first impeachment hearing," he added.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III committed that the Senate will immediately convene as an impeachment court, should it receive Duterte's Articles of Impeachment from the House.

House justice committee chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro said the House justice panel will still meet on May 4 for the voting on the committee report with the corresponding Articles of Impeachment before sending it to the House committee on rules for scheduling of plenary action. —RF, GMA News