A LAWMAKER on Monday refuted former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s claim that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. would declare martial law to stay in power and ensure the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, calling it outright false and “fake news.”
“Yung pagdeklara ng martial law, fake news ulit. Hello, fake news, Mr. Fake News. Wag naman puro fake news na lang lumalabas sa bunganga nyo, palitan nyo naman,” House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union said.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also downplayed Duterte’s claim, saying the former president was entitled to his own opinion but that the case against the Vice President was anchored on solid legal grounds.
“The former president is open naman, not really open, he’s entitled naman to have his own opinion. Lahat naman tayo may sariling interpretasyon sa lahat ng bagay. Of course, you cannot discount the fact that the Vice President is his daughter. So talagang sasabihin niya ‘yung whatever is possible reason that he may think behind itong impeachment,” Adiong said.
He stressed that 215 lawmakers had found sufficient grounds to move forward with the case, proving that the allegations were serious and had nothing to do with political maneuvering.
“But the impeachment, if you go to the merits of the case, 215 complainants – members of this House – said that the VP deserves a day in court,” he added.
Adiong underscored that the charges against Duterte were tied to her alleged misuse of confidential funds and public threats against high-ranking officials, not political rivalry.
“And yung mga kaso naman nya, it’s not really connected to her partisanship or which party she belongs to. These are brought about by the allegations and violation of the joint circular when it comes to the utilization of the confidential fund,” he said.
“One of the articles of impeachment is brought about by the threats that she made publicly against the President, against the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House, threatening their lives,” he added.
Adiong urged the public to focus on the real issues instead of being swayed by political narratives meant to distract from the case at hand.
“So, we should not divert from those real issues at hand. ‘Yun ang focus ng impeachment na ito,” he said.
He also reiterated that electoral politics should not be mixed with constitutional accountability.
“Politika, darating naman ‘yan sa mga election. There are ways para resolbahin ang politika but this is already something beyond politics. This is about holding public officials accountable to their actions,” Adiong stressed.
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