Sara Duterte seeks dismissal of ‘defective’ articles of impeachment

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, June 1, asked the Senate impeachment court to junk the articles of impeachment against her, claiming “they suffer from fatal constitutional, procedural, and substantive defects.”

“They fail to satisfy the standards required by the Constitution and, accordingly, should be dismissed,” Duterte said in her response to the articles of impeachment against her submitted to the Senate on Monday, the deadline for submission.

Senate Secretary and concurrent Impeachment Court Clerk of Court Jose Luis Montales officially received the formal answer of Duterte from the latter’s legal team.

“There is a standard under the Constitution to establish culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, high crimes, or betrayal of public trust for an impeachable officer to be convicted of any thereof. The allegations against the Vice President fall short of the threshold,” Duterte said in her response, based on the executive summary of her submission released to the media.

The Duterte camp reiterated its position that the House committee on justice supposedly conducted a “trial” when it deliberated on the impeachment complaints against her.

This is based on the pronouncement of prosecution panel chair Jinky Luistro at the onset of the impeachment hearings that what they were conducting was a “mini-trial” or preliminary investigation as the proceedings examined the evidence presented by the complainants.

Duterte also accused the House panel of “pre-judgment,” and questioned the introduction of “new pieces of evidence not included in the impeachment complaints” that the “Vice President was not given the opportunity to confront and answer” and was thus denied due process.

Duterte skipped all of the impeachment hearings, saying she would only address the allegations before the Senate impeachment court.

The Vice President also questioned why the allegations against her also cover acts she allegedly committed when she was not an impeachable officer. She said the articles of impeachment “draw heavily from alleged records, documents, and allegations pertaining to periods” when she was Davao City mayor and vice mayor.

Duterte also denied that she misused confidental funds and maintained that she had no ill-gotten wealth.

“With respect to allegations of political destabilization, sedition, or purported threats against government officials, the Defense asserts that the charges are founded upon statements taken out of context, statements not made by the Vice President herself, or interpretations unsupported by competent and admissible evidence,” the Duterte camp said.

Duterte has been accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and high crimes.

She allegedly misused confidential funds as head of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd). Also, one of the subjects of the articles of impeachment is the discrepancy between Duterte’s bank transaction records and her declared net worth in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

Duterte also allegedly provided monetary gifts to DepEd officials and threatened to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte for the second time on Monday, May 11. On the same day, a coup transpired in the upper chamber, installing Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president and Duterte-affiliated senators as members of the majority bloc.

The articles of impeachment were transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate on Wednesday, May 13, the same day a shootout involving agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Senate security personnel occurred.

The Senate then convened as an impeachment court on Monday, May 18. The impeachment trial is scheduled on July 6. – Rappler.com