By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – The possible dismissal of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte will have no negative impact on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Malacañang said on Wednesday.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed that the President has nothing to do with the impeachment complaint filed against Duterte.
In a Palace press briefing, Castro maintained that Duterte’s case now lies in the hands of Congress.
“So, wala po tayong nakikitang anumang negative impact na mangyayari sa Pangulo dahil hindi po siya kasama sa anumang pagtatagisan ng talino sa debate dito sa Senado (we do not see any negative impact that will happen to the President because he is not part of any intellectual debate in the Senate),” she said.
“So, kung ito man ay ma-dismiss, sabi nga po natin, taumbayan po ang huhusga sa Senado kung ano po ang ginawa nila (even if this is dismissed, as we said, the people will judge the Senate for what they did) during the impeachment trial.”
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18-5 to return the articles of impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives.
The motion, introduced by Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, explicitly stated that the return of the articles would not constitute dismissal or final judgment.
While Marcos is not focused on the impeachment trial, he agrees that public servants must uphold transparency and accountability, Castro said.
Castro also emphasized that the public would see “who is following the procedure or who is playing with the procedure to avoid or to continue the impeachment trial.”
“So, kapag sinabi po ng Pangulo na proseso, dapat sundin ang batas, dapat sundin ang Konstitusyon (when the President says that the process, the law must be followed, the Constitution must be followed),” she said.
“Huwag paglaruan ang mga procedure. Iyong naaayon lang po ang paggamit ng procedure at rule of law para ito sa taumbayan, para sa interes ng taumbayan (Do not toy with the procedures. The procedure and rule of law must be used accordingly, for the people, for the people’s interest).” (PNA)
