SNIDE remarks and careless language from the sidelines should not distract the House Committee on Justice from its constitutional duty to hear the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said Monday, warning that ridicule is no substitute for reason and no answer to constitutional accountability.
Chua, a member of the Justice panel, backed the earlier rebuke issued by San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora against Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso, whose remarks dismissing the impeachment process drew criticism for lowering the level of public discourse on a matter of national consequence.
“Hindi naman ito huntahan sa plaza, o sagutan ng mga tsismoso sa kanto. This is an impeachment proceeding. If Mayor Olaso wants to attack the process, then he should do so with law, reason, and facts, not with language that cheapens the discussion and insults the public’s intelligence,” Chua, who chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said.
Chua, a lawyer, said the problem with Olaso’s outburst is not merely tone, but the attempt to reduce a constitutional mechanism into a spectacle, as though the House were free to ignore complaints once they have been properly filed and referred to the committee tasked to hear them.
The House Committee on Justice is acting with purpose, not on a whim or for amusement. We are carrying out a constitutional mandate. No mayor, no former lawmaker and no partisan voice can wish that duty away just because the process makes them uncomfortable,” he stressed.
He added that Olaso, having once served in Congress himself, should understand better than most that the House can both legislate and discharge its constitutional responsibilities at the same time and that trying to portray the impeachment proceedings as a useless distraction is either a serious misunderstanding of Congress or a deliberate misrepresentation of its work.
“Kung dating mambabatas ka, mas dapat alam mo na hindi puwedeng bastusin ang proseso kapag Saligang Batas na ang pinag-uusapan. Hindi ito kalokohan. Ang kalokohan ay iyong minamaliit mo ang tungkulin ng Kongreso para lang makapuntos ka sa pulitika,” Chua said.
Chua also said that throwing around harsh phrases may generate noise online, but it does nothing to confront the actual issues raised in the impeachment complaints, particularly when the House panel is expected to determine probable cause and lay the groundwork for any possible next step under the Constitution.
“Public office demands discipline in language, especially when the subject is impeachment. What Mayor Olaso offered was not serious criticism. Parang show lang ito eh, showbiz talk show. And the Filipino people deserve better than officials who confuse mockery with argument,” Chua said.
For Chua, the panel’s best answer to Olaso is not to descend to the same level of rhetoric, but to continue its work with steadiness, sobriety and fidelity to the rules, while making clear that the Constitution does not bend to bluster, insult or political heckling from outside the hearing room.
“We will stay focused on the evidence, on due process and on the constitutional task before us. Cheap shots from the gallery will not derail the House justice panel. What will matter in the end is the record, the law and the truth,” Chua said.
After this, Chua, a lawyer, said he would no longer dignify Olaso’s remarks, describing them as a clear attempt to grab public attention. “Nakapagpapansin naman na si Mayor Olaso kaya sana naintindihan na niya ang constitutional mandate ng House members ngayon kaya dinidinig natin ang impeachment.”
