Vice Pres. Sara Duterte Leaves PH amid Ongoing Impeachment Trial
SARA DUTERTE – The Office of the Vice President confirmed that she has left for her scheduled overseas trip to several countries abroad.
The impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Duterte is ongoing. Both the prosecution and the defense are eager to defend their grounds in the battle over the corruption accusations against the Vice President as well as the issue about her alleged “threats” against Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Duterte previously claimed that she allegedly hired someone to kill Marcos Jr. as well as First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez in case she’s eradicated. Amid the criticisms then, the Vice President claimed that there is no active threat in what she said.
Previously, following the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director saying that her remarks is allegedly not covered by the Freedom of Speech, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that the stand of the prosecution tagging her remarks as threats is supposedly not supported by evidence. She also called on her critics and opponents in politics to stop the alleged fake calls for accountability and transparency.
Here are some of the grounds raised against Duterte in one of the four (4) impeachment complaints that were filed against the Vice President before the House of Representatives:
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount over PHP 500 million confidential funds (CF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President from 2022 to 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount of not less than PHP 112.5 million of confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the year 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by corrupting and bribing officials of the DepEd
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in contracting to murder or assassinate the president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in amassing unexplained wealth and failing to disclose all her properties and interests in properties in her SALN
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in committing acts of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection
The Senate impeachment court is led by Sen. Chiz Escudero who recently announced the subpoena for the financial documents of the Vice President. Twelve senator-judges backed Escudero to be the presiding officer while eight (8) senator-judges opposed it.
YES
- Senate Pres. Sherwin Gatchalian
- Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto
- Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri
- Sen. Panfilo Lacson
- Sen. Kiko Pangilingan
- Sen. Bam Aquino
- Sen. Risa Hontiveros
- Sen. Joel Villanueva
- Sen. Erwin Tulfo
- Sen. Raffy Tulfo
- Sen. JV Ejercito
- Sen. Lito Lapid
NO
- Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano
- Sen. Pia Cayetano
- Sen. Loren Legarda
- Sen. Bong Go
- Sen. Imee Marcos
- Sen. Mark Villar
- Sen. Camille Villar
- Sen. Robin Padilla
Recently, the office of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has confirmed that she has left the country for an overseas trip to several nations abroad. Based on News5, among the countries that the Vice President is set to visit are Qatar, United Kingdom, and The Netherlands.
According to the OVP, the overseas trip of Duterte is a mixture of official foreign travel and personal engagements. Based on the post, the Vice President’s office clarified that no government funds are used in the trip.
Previously, amid the criticisms against her travels abroad, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that no public funds are used in her trips abroad.