DEPUTY Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union on Saturday said the House of Representatives is responding to what he described as distractions surrounding the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte by staying focused on its legislative work and constitutional duties.
Ortega said lawmakers have chosen to answer political attacks and diversionary issues through performance and results rather than rhetoric.
“Tinatapatan po namin sila sa trabaho eh. Consistency,” Ortega said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
According to Ortega, the response of the House to fake news, political attacks, misinformation is to continue delivering results.
“Ang panlaban po ng House dito eh magtrabaho, gawin ‘yung trabaho. Tuloy-tuloy lang,” Ortega said.
“Ang panlaban po naman sa kasinungalingan eh katotohanan,” he added.
The House leader pointed to the chamber’s legislative output and the conduct of congressional hearings as proof that lawmakers remain focused on their responsibilities despite political controversies.
“Kita naman po natin sa dami ng naging problema na pinagdadaanan, eh trabaho lang din po ang ginagawa ng House,” Ortega said.
He specifically cited the proceedings of the House Committee on Justice, which handled the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
“Nakita po ng taumbayan, maganda po ‘yung handling, nakita po nila kung paano po kino-conduct ‘yung hearings,” he said.
Ortega added that the public ultimately judges government institutions based on results rather than political noise.
“Sa tingin ko ang taumbayan, ‘pag nagtatrabaho at nakikita nila ‘yung resulta, okay naman po,” he said.
The deputy speaker made the remarks when asked about issues he described as distractions from the impeachment proceedings, including the controversy involving the 18 individuals claiming to be former Marine officers and bodyguards of former congressman Zaldy Co.
The group alleged that cash-filled luggage bags were distributed to lawmakers, an accusation that those implicated have vehemently denied.
The claims were expected to be discussed in a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee proceeding recently, but the much-publicized event failed to materialize as initially announced and was eventually reduced to a press conference.
Ortega said he has noticed a pattern in the personalities being targeted by such allegations.
“Hindi ko alam saan nila kinukuha ‘yung mga kung ano-anong mga binabato nila,” he said.
According to Ortega, many of those being linked to the accusations are lawmakers who played key roles in congressional investigations, including members of the House Committee on Justice, the Quad Committee in the previous Congress, and the previous and present House leadership.
He also lamented what he described as attempts to use disasters and tragedies to generate political controversy and divert attention from more important issues.
“Nakakalungkot lang na ginagamit pati ‘yung mga disasters at ‘yung mga sakuna para po gamitin lang na political issue, additional smokescreen, fake news, deceit,” Ortega said.
The Senate impeachment court held its pre-trial conference on June 18 and is set to begin trial proceedings on July 6.
Ortega said the public’s attention should remain on the impeachment proceedings, where both the prosecution and defense will have the opportunity to present evidence and arguments before the Senate impeachment court.
“Focus lang tayo sa impeachment trial,” he said.
Ortega has repeatedly argued that the impeachment trial is the proper constitutional venue for resolving the allegations against Duterte and answering questions raised during congressional investigations.
