ADMINISTRATION lawmakers yesterday told Vice President Sara Duterte that her defense team’s confidence in securing her acquittal in her upcoming impeachment trial is not enough to dismiss the overwhelming evidence against her.
“Libre ang mangarap (It’s free to dream). She can be as confident as she wants, but that doesn’t change the facts. The evidence we’ve uncovered is substantial, well documented, and rooted in her own actions. This is not political harassment. It is accountability in action,” Zambales Rep. Jeffrey Khonghun said.
The Articles of Impeachment, which the House approved on February 5 and transmitted to the Senate on the same day, accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes.
Among the specific acts cited by the complaint is the Vice President’s alleged illegal use of P612.5 million in confidential funds during her concurrent tenure as Vice President and as former education secretary.
The complaint cited the vice president’s spending of P125 million out of P612.5 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in December 2022, and her use of confidential funds even if she does not have a mandate under the law to conduct intelligence or surveillance operations.
The House has held hearings into the alleged questionable fund disbursements.
The impeachment trial is expected to begin in July.
On Tuesday, Duterte said her legal team is “more than confident that they will win in the impeachment case” and that she, too, is “most confident” that her lawyers will be able to win the case for her.
‘EVIDENCE CLEAR’
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V also dismissed the vice president’s statements, saying the House has solid evidence to secure her conviction. “The evidence is clear, the violations are serious, and the public deserves the truth. This isn’t a confidence game. This is the Constitution at work,” he said.
“The OVP is not an intelligence agency. Using intelligence funds was not just irregular, it was illegal,” Ortega said.
Ortega also cited findings of the he House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability that many of the supposed recipients of the confidential funds are non-existent, “raising the possibility that transactions were fabricated to cover up the misuse.”
“We now have information that points to non-existent or suspicious recipients of public funds. That’s not just a violation. It’s a deception,” he said. “This goes beyond technicalities. This is potential fraud against the Filipino people.”
Duterte has also said she changed her mind about not making political endorsements because of the prodding of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who asked her to campaign for the 10-man senatorial slate of his political party, PDP-Laban, which is led by reelectionist Senators Christopher “Bong Go” and Ronald dela Rosa.
The former president was arrested last month and brought to The Hague to face trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
The vice president denied she made the endorsement to get the support of senators who will be judges in the impeachment trial. She said she endorsed reelectionist Sen. Imee Marcos and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, who is part of administration’s Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate, because they are her friends.
Khonghun warned against using political alliances or electoral influence “to sway the outcome of the trial.”
“This is not about former President Duterte. This is about Sara Duterte’s own actions, her own accountability,” Khonghun said,
Ortega added, “This is not about drama, endorsements or dynasty politics. It’s about upholding the Constitution and protecting public funds. No amount of spin or campaigning will erase the truth.”
