House Members Deny Sara Duterte’s Impeachment Claim, One Says “Waste of Time”
SARA DUTERTE’S IMPEACHMENT – Some members of the House of Representatives reacted to the claim of the Vice President of talks to oust her.
Undeniably, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is one of the most controversial public officials in the Philippines now. In fact, Duterte’s relationship with Pres. Bongbong Marcos is being questioned and she recently spoke on it.
More than a month ago, the Vice President did an unexpected move of leaving the cabinet of Pres. Marcos. Duterte resigned from being the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd). Her absence during the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Pres. Marcos also sparked speculations.
During the onslaught of Typhoon Carina in the Philippines, Vice Pres. Duterte also received backlash for leaving the country. She flew on a personal trip abroad amid thousands of Filipino families losing their homes and livelihoods to the typhoon.
It also sparked several headlines when an issue sparked between Vice Pres. Sara Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Marbil after the latter ordered for the recall of the 75 cops assigned for the former’s security.
However, while some lawmaker allies of the Vice President and her supporters worry about her safety, several known personalities in the country divulged that the VP still has over 400 personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) assigned for the security detail of the VP.
Currently, the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was also scrutinized in a Senate finance committee hearing. Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned Vice Pres. Duterte over the P10 million fund allocated for the distribution of the book she authored.
Recently, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that her impeachment is allegedly openly discussed in the House of Representatives. To this, some members of the lower chamber were quick to debunk the VP’s claim.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paulo Ortega said that the Vice President should identify her “friends” who were the source of the alleged impeachment talk so these people can say whether or not it is true. He stressed that there are no discussions of ousting the Vice President in the House.
House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin of Iloilo stressed that they are busy scrutinizing the 2025 budget proposals. According to her, talking about the potential impeachment of the Vice President is a “waste of time”.
Based on the report, as for One Rider party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, the rumors should be substantiated so it would be more helpful for the House members “to really thresh out”. According to him, there are no talks about ousting the VP in the House.