De Lima calls Ombudsman order vs. Duterte ‘suspicious’ amid impeachment woes
Metro Manila, Philippines - Mamamayang Liberal Representative-elect Leila De Lima on Saturday, June 21, questioned the “suspicious timing” of the Ombudsman’s order for Vice President Sara Duterte to respond to criminal charges involving confidential funds.
This comes after Ombudsman Samuel Martires confirmed that he issued the order directing Duterte to file her counter-affidavits to the complaints.
De Lima pointed out that the “sudden action” of the Ombudsman was allegedly inconsistent with its previous handling of cases involving Duterte allies, adding that Martires is an appointee of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“There’s really room and there’s reason for concern. Especially on the part of prosecutors, impeachment prosecutors,” she said.
De Lima, a member of the House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Duterte, warned that the order could pre-empt the Senate impeachment court.
She said that the anti-graft court’s possible dismissal of Duterte's case before the Senate convenes as an impeachment court may influence the perception of the evidence presented during trial.
“Hindi mawawala sa atin na magduda, magsuspetya na baka nga ang balak ay baka aaksyunan niya kaagad pag nakuha na, na-submit na yung counter-affidavit at hindi malayo ‘yung i-didismiss,” she said.
[Translation: We will really doubt and become suspicious that they might readily act on it once the counter-affidavit is submitted and they could easily dismiss it. ]
De Lima also pointed out a “pattern of avoiding trial at all costs,” citing the petitions to stop the trial filed before the Supreme Court and the Senate’s majority vote to remand the Articles of Impeachment.
“Itong mga galaw na ito, this is really cause for concern. Parang duon tumutumbok na eh, towards basta dismissal. Para bang ayaw na nilang magkaroon talaga ng trial,” she said.
[Translation: These actions are really cause for concern. It's like it's heading towards dismissal. It's like they don't really want to have a trial.]
De Lima noted that Duterte’s legal team had filed a special appearance “ad cautelam,” which she claimed could be hinting at further procedural tactics.
Filing an appearance ad cautelam means Duterte’s defense team is not yet recognizing the impeachment court’s jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the vice president left for Australia this week on another “personal trip” to join a protest action calling for the release of her father ex-President Duterte who is under International Criminal Court jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity.
