Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte said she is fine on losing her post ahead of the scheduled May 11 plenary vote at the House of Representatives that will decide the fate of the impeachment complaints against her.
“Kung manatili akong vice president, well and good. Mas marami pa akong matutulungan through the Office of the Vice President. Kung hindi man din ako maging vice president, okay lang din sa akin,” Duterte said in an interview on May 6 at The Hague, Netherlands where her father is detained.
[Translation: If I remain vice president, well and good. I’ll be able to help even more people through the Office of the Vice President. And if I don’t become vice president, that’s okay with me too.]
Duterte said she never wanted to be president, citing her political plans in 2022. On the other hand, she announced in February her intention to run for president in 2028 – two years ahead of the elections.
The vice president said she is not a vindictive person, when asked about the possibility of lawmakers backing her impeachment out of fear that she might go after them.
Duterte noted this supposed fear shouldn’t be a factor for congressmen in casting their vote.
“Iyon ‘yung dapat na tinitingnan nila. May basehan ba ito o wala? Ano ba talaga ang totoong kwento dito? Is this accountability or is this about removing a person who doesn’t agree with the administration?,” she said.
[Translation: That’s what they should really be looking at. Is there a basis for this or not? What’s the real story here? Is this about accountability, or is it about removing a person who doesn’t agree with the administration?]
Blocking presidential bid
In an interview in NewsWatch Plus, Lorenz Defensor, House senior deputy majority leader, said impeachment is not a tool to block the vice president from seeking the presidency in 2028.
“It’s not being used to rule her out. It’s always up to the Senate Impeachment Court to rule her out or not. So nasa kamay ng mga senador [it’s in the hands of senators] to convict or acquit her. It’s not Congress, it’s not the congressmen,” he said.
Asked for a reaction to Duterte’s statement that she is fine on losing the vice presidency, Defensor said it is good that the vice president would welcome any decision from the Senate.
In the committee report and resolution setting forth the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, the House justice committee sought two penalties on the vice president: removal from office and perpetual disqualification from public office.
Defensor explained why these are inseparable.
“Kapag sinabi mong ang presidente o bise presidente ay nakagawa ng culpable violation, o high crime, o betrayal of public trust, at tinanggal siya o ni-remove siya, dapat may kasama na ring perpetual disqualification dahil hindi ito simpleng krimen. Ito ay paglabag sa Konstitusyon habang siya ay isa sa pinakamataas na opisyal ng bansa,” he said.
[Translation: When you say that the president or the vice president has committed culpable violation, or high crime, or betrayal of public trust, and she was ousted, perpetual disqualification should come with it because this is not a simple crime, this is violating the Constitution being one of the highest officials of the country.]
Meanwhile, a Quezon City Regional Trial Court dismissed the petition of Duterte’s husband, Mans Carpio, seeking to stop the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives.
“Respondents do not usurp but are in fact, as members of HCOJ are, by law, constituted to determine the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint against the Vice-President and eventually the determination of probable cause for the filing of the case to the Senate,” the ruling read, dated May 6.
