HOUSE leaders on Friday expressed confidence that the Supreme Court (SC) will uphold the legality of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, asserting that the House of Representatives strictly adhered to due process in endorsing the complaint.
“Well, everything was well in the process naman po, nasa proseso lahat po ‘yan,” Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union said.
“Confidently, I can say na wala pong nilabag ang HOR o kung anuman ang nababato or minsan nga parang counter na lang ‘yun eh, para lang may, ma-delay po yung mga proceedings,” Ortega added.
He dismissed allegations that the House committed any procedural violations, stressing that any legal challenge to the impeachment is merely a delaying tactic.
“Confident po ako na hindi naman po magiging hadlang ang mga ito sa impeachment,” he added.
House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun of Zambales echoed this, underscoring that the impeachment process was carried out with full adherence to legal requirements and constitutional guidelines.
“Siyempre, we leave it up to the decision ng ating SecGen,” Khonghun said when asked if the House responded to the SC.
“Nakita naman natin na talagang maingat na sinunod ng Kongreso ang proseso at talagang tiningnan ito ng maayos, pinag-aralan ng maayos kung papano gagawin at susundin ang mga batas patungkol sa impeachment complaint,” he added.
Khonghun also pointed out that the legal maneuvering from the vice president’s camp appears to be a deliberate effort to stall the impeachment process.
“Tingin ko isa rin ito sa mga delaying tactics ng kampo ng ating Bise-Presidente,” he said.
“Para at least patagalin o harangin yung ating sinasagawang impeachment complaint dahil nakita naman natin na talagang napakahirap ipaliwanag no, ‘yung mga nangyari sa korte, sa impeachment trial.”
He further noted that the impeachment trial will expose various alleged irregularities within the vice president’s office, particularly in the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
“Napakahirap ipaliwanag lalong-lalo na ‘yung mga kakulangan no at saka mga nagawang kalokohan doon sa kaniyang ah opisina sa DepEd at saka sa Office of the Vice President,” he said.
Ortega, meanwhile, recalled how Duterte previously challenged her critics to impeach her, only for her camp to later raise legal questions against the process.
“Tapos ‘yung mga presscon po nung ng ating Bise Presidente, sinasabi nga niya po na i-impeach niyo na lang ako para I can defend myself para malagay po sa tamang ah ang tawag dito mailagay po sa tamang konteksto para mapagtanggol nya ang sarili nya,” Ortega said.
However, he noted that instead of engaging in the impeachment trial, the vice president’s legal team has been filing motions and raising legal barriers.
“Pero here comes the impeachment pero nagsa-submit lang sila ng kanilang katanungan at ah may kaukulang pagharang po sa sa mismong impeachment proceedings,” he said.
Ortega argued that the vice president’s actions contradict her previous statements and only serve to cast doubt on her willingness to be held accountable.
“So parang nag-collapse po ‘yung mga statements nila sa sarili nilang previous statements din gaya nga po ng mga history na would say na ganun po ang mga usual na sinasabi nila,” he said.
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