The President said he would satisfy his critics’ lust to impeach him from office if they believe that his siding with the CIDG is an impeachable offense.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte challenges his critics to impeach him for supposedly taking side with the policemen who are involved in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.
The President has earlier said that he would not let the operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to be imprisoned after being involved in the killing of Mayor Espinosa while he was detained at Baybay sub-provincial jail in Baybay, Leyte.
This is despite the conclusion of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that the local chief executive was slain in a rubout and nor shootout.
Senator Leila de Lima criticized Duterte saying that his defense of the policemen could be considered an impeachable offense, stressing that the act was tantamount to pardon, something that only the courts can do.
However, President Duterte, who was in Albay province on Thursday, was not threatened by the words of De Lima and answered instead, “They can go ahead. Maraming daldal (they are talking too much)”.
“I have to satisfy their lust for whatever. Let them be. Impeachable? Go ahead”.
Meanwhile, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo explained that the support of the President for the CIDG cannot be a ground to impeach him.
He further said that it is the duty of the Chief Executive to protect the members of the Philippine National Police enforcing the law and his directives.
Panelo said the results of the NBI’s separate investigation on the Espinosa killing shows that it does not interfere with any government agency doing their job but it does not follow that the NBI is correct “because the courts have to decide whether they are correct or not”.
The Chief Presidential Legal Counsel questions why the President’s siding with the CIDG be used as grounds to impeach him and asked if it was even an offense.
The CIDG team, led by their commander, Police Supt. Marvin Marcos was to serve a search warrant to Mayor Espinosa on early November 5 morning but the alleged that the mayor fought back using a handgun and so they were forced to shoot him back.