DEPUTY Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union on Sunday rejected the statement issued by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) against House members supporting the impeachment of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, saying lawmakers “will not be cowed, blackmailed, or threatened” for carrying out their constitutional duty.
“The Constitution—not political intimidation—guides members of the House of Representatives,” Ortega said.
“Voting on impeachment is not an act of political persecution. It is a solemn constitutional obligation. No congressman or public official should be threatened with political retaliation simply for following the law and examining the evidence before the Filipino people,” he added.
Ortega said the statements made by PDP reveal a dangerous mindset that seeks to pressure legislators into silence and blind obedience.
“The voice that matters to us is not the voice of a discredited political party trying to regain relevance. It is the voice of our constituents—the Filipino people—who expect public officials to answer serious allegations through constitutional processes,” he said.
He stressed that impeachment is not about personalities or future elections, but accountability under the rule of law.
“If there are allegations involving confidential funds, questionable financial transactions, threats against national leaders, or possible abuse of public office, Congress has every duty to examine them. That is democracy. That is accountability,” Ortega said.
The Deputy Speaker also pushed back against attempts to portray the impeachment process as an attack on democracy.
“The real threat to democracy is the attempt to bully institutions into submission and intimidate elected representatives into abandoning their constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
Ortega warned Filipinos against forces seeking to rehabilitate what he described as one of the darkest periods in recent political history.
“The Filipino people have not forgotten the era of extrajudicial killings, the Pharmally scandal, the rise of POGO-linked criminality, fake citizenship controversies, and the growing influence of organized syndicates that nearly pushed this country toward becoming a narco-state,” he said.
“We will not allow those same forces, personalities, and political interests to manipulate public anger and weaponize fear in order to escape accountability,” Ortega added.
He said House members understand the weight of the impeachment process and will not be distracted by threats of blacklisting or political revenge.
“Members of Congress were elected to uphold the Constitution—not to bow before political dynasties, partisan machinery, or groups attempting to pressure the House through fear and intimidation,” Ortega said.
“At the end of the day, every lawmaker will answer not to PDP, not to political operators, and not to vested interests—but to the Filipino people and to history,” Ortega said.
