If Marcos pushes impeachment, then he is open to truth 鈥� Maza
Gabriela Women’s Party members, including former lawmaker Liza Maza (second from right) and incumbent Rep. Arlene Brosas (middle), attend a press briefing on the Senate’s delayed impeachment proceedings. — Photo by Gabriel Pabico Lalu/ 好色先生TV
MANILA, Philippines — Should President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. become open to the conduct of an impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, it might just paint him as an official who is open to hearing the truth, a former lawmaker said on Tuesday.
But if Marcos remains disinterested, former Gabriela party-list lawmaker Liza Maza believes it might be due to a fear that he will be the next subject of impeachment proceedings — also because of confidential fund (CF) issues.
Maza, during the Makabayan press briefing held inside the Batasang Pambansa complex, noted that Marcos’ office has a bigger chunk of CFs compared to what was allocated to Duterte’s offices from 2022 to 2023.
“I think President Marcos is afraid of impeachment because maybe he saw that if this proceeds, and it was proven that there are anomalies and possibly criminal liability on the part of Vice President Sara Duterte, maybe he would be next because we know that the President has a huge confidential fund,” Maza said.
“But I think, if he would show a forward-looking move — that he would not interfere, and maybe he can even say that he would push for the impeachment to know the truth and to prove that justice prevails, we can say that he now has an open mind towards the pursuit of the truth,” she added.
The President has repeatedly maintained that he does not agree with Duterte’s impeachment. During a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Marcos showed irritation when asked if he really did not want the impeachment proceedings to prosper.
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Last May 19, Marcos said that he will not interfere in the impeachment trial of Duterte, saying that the ball is now in the Senate’s court.
READ: Marcos on Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Let process take its course
But Bagong Alyansang Makabayan president Renato Reyes Jr. believes that Malacañang plays a big role in the delay in Duterte’s impeachment, especially since the developments — or the lack thereof — comes after Marcos opened possibilities for reconciliation with the Dutertes.
“The signals are coming from Malacañang, as mentioned earlier, the President himself has repeatedly said that he does not want an impeachment. So, there will be an impact on the House, the Senate, who listens to what the President says. Also, it is alarming that the President said he is willing to reconcile with the Dutertes,” he said in Filipino.
“What does that mean? Will we set aside the cases, will we abandon accountability just because there are reconciliation efforts? To be honest, this issue will not only boil down to the Senate and the House, but also Malacañang too, because the President does not show any interest in investigating and discussing this big of an issue,” he added.
Escudero has been taking criticisms from different sectors, including members of the House Minority, after he decided to reschedule the presentation of the articles of impeachment.
Last May 23, Escudero sent a letter to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez inviting the House prosecution panel to the Senate plenary on June 2 to present the articles. Escudero said back then that on June 3, the next day, the Senate will convene as an impeachment court.
However, last Thursday, Escudero sent another letter to Romualdez informing that the reading of the articles will be rescheduled to June 11.
READ: Presentation of impeachment articles vs Sara Duterte moved to June 11
On Monday, former senator and incoming Mamamayang Liberal party-list lawmaker Leila de Lima said Escudero is effectively violating the 1987 Constitution as Article XI, Section 3(4) states that if a verified impeachment complaint is “filed by at least one-third” of all House members, a “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”
One-thirds of the House is 102 out of 306 — which means this requirement was satisfied after 215 lawmakers signed and filed the fourth impeachment complaint last February 5.
READ: De Lima: Escudero violating Constitution with impeachment trial delay
Then earlier, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña asked if Escudero is afraid of Vice President Sara Duterte, as they believe the upper chamber of Congress is delaying the impeachment trial.
Cendaña reminded the Senate that there are different surveys indicating that people want to see the impeachment trial, and that even the Vice President said that she sees the proceedings as a chance to defend herself.
READ: House member asks Escudero: Are you afraid of Sara Duterte?
Duterte was impeached after House lawmakers verified a fourth complaint hinged on alleged misuse of CF lodged in her offices, and threats to high-ranking officials including Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Romualdez.
The fourth complaint was a combination of the first three impeachment raps filed by groups — which included findings of the House committee on good government and public accountability
During the course of the panel’s hearings, lawmakers discovered weird names who signed off acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for the confidential expenses made by Duterte’s offices.
ARs are submitted to the Commission on Audit to prove that funding for projects reached its intended beneficiaries, which in this case, are confidential informants.
Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop noticed that one of the individuals who signed the ARs was named Mary Grace Piattos — a name similar to a restaurant and a potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two ARs — one for the Office of the Vice President and another for the Department of Education — which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin. However, the signatures and handwriting used by the Villamin in the two documents differed.
There were also no entries for persons with Piattos and Villamin’s names in the Philippine Statistics Authority database. /das
