Impeachment of Sara Duterte Just a Smokescreen Says Baste Duterte
BASTE DUTERTE – Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte dismissed the impeachment efforts against Vice President Sara Duterte as merely a smokescreen, suggesting that it is a distraction from more pressing national issues.
The impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is merely a smokescreen meant to divert public attention from the controversy surrounding the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte claimed yesterday.
Speaking on his podcast “Basta Dabawenyo,” the mayor, who is also the Vice President’s brother, alleged that the impeachment move is a “panic response” from the Marcos administration. According to him, the government is using this issue to shift focus away from the public outcry over the national budget.
“They do not have an answer (to the budget controversy), so they looked for an issue to throw so the people’s attention could revolve around it,” Mayor Duterte stated.
The budget controversy gained traction after former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab disclosed the presence of blank spaces in the bicameral conference committee report on the national budget submitted to Malacañang. They alleged that these blank spaces were deliberately left to be filled later with allocations for favored projects.
Despite the impeachment complaint filed against her, Mayor Duterte said he has yet to meet with his sister but believes that she remains unbothered by the issue. He also accused those who signed the complaint of acting out of self-preservation rather than genuine concern for their constituents.
“I don’t think they consulted with their constituents, because if they did, why would they react violently?” he questioned.
The mayor expressed confidence that the Vice President will overcome this challenge, emphasizing that she has a strong legal team behind her. Her legal counsels include former President Duterte, her father-in-law Lucas Carpio Jr., and prominent lawyers Philip Sigfrid Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa II, Sheila Sison, and Roberto Batungbacal.
“We are ready to fight them. Whatever they are accusing the Vice President, we are ready to face it,” Mayor Duterte asserted.
As the political drama unfolds, the public remains watchful of how both the impeachment proceedings and the budget controversy will be resolved.
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