AGLIPAYAN Church Bishop Alvin Valera on Tuesday reiterated his plea for Vice President Sara Z. Duterte to attend Wednesday’s final hearing of the House committee on justice and answer the impeachment charges against her.
Valera told a news conference at the House of Representatives with House Committee on Public Accounts Chair Terry L. Ridon and other religious leaders that they want to hear the truth from the vice president.
He said if the respondent official has nothing to hide, she has nothing to fear and should prove her critics wrong.
“At sa amin po sa simbahan ay hindi po matatawaran ang amin pong pananabik na malaman mismo sa bibig ng ating Pangalawang Pangulo ang katotohanan hinggil sa mga samot-saring katanungan sa kanya,” Valera said.
The group met with Ridon for the House–Church impeachment dialogue at the North Lounge Extension (NLEx) of the House of Representatives.
For her part, Dr. Melba Maggay of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture said the impeachment process should focus on justice and accountability.
Maggay also urged the vice president’s camp to stop resorting to technicalities and “weaponization of the law.”
“Ang importante dito accountability, hustisya at sino man matatamaan ng ganyang bato dapat matuto to answer all the charges,” she said.
“Kay Vice President Duterte nakasalalay ang future ng bansang ito. Isipin natin kung ano mangyayari kung hindi natin kayang litisin ang mga malalaking tao sa ating lipunan. Sana po ito ay magiging ehemplo, example,” she said.
“Ang amin lang po panawagan sa ating mga kinauukulan whether si Presidente, Vice President Duterte o yung po mga senador at mga congressman, na sana unahin iyong justice. Huwag yung pamumulitika, whether pro Duterte or against Duterte,” she added.
Maggay also lamented what she described as resort to technicalities and “weaponization of the law.”
She decried the failure of Vice President Duterte-Carpio’s camp to answer the impeachment charges against her.
“Ang isang matinding nangyayari sa atin ngayon, lahat ng bagay tine-technicalize. Halimbawa ang defense team, hindi po sinususugan at hindi ina-answer ang mga charges. Ang nangyayari, they will pull out some technicality, jurisdiction o ngayon itong mga bank secrecy at kung ano-ano pa,” she said.
“In other words, kaming mga taong simbahan, meron pinaniniwalaan na ‘wag i-techicalize at i-weaponize ang law,” she said.
She cited the extensive debate on the mandate for the Senate to proceed with “trial forthwith” during last year’s impeachment process.
“Kagaya ng ‘forthwith’ noong nangyayari…sa Senate, we technicalize everything. Sana naman ‘yung mga lawyer dito makinig, na ang gusto ng Diyos ay justice,” she said.
Maggay called on the Vice President’s camp to stop resorting to technicalities.
“You ferret out all of these technicalities. So tama na sana ‘yun. Bigyan na natin ng tuldok ito. Tuldokan na natin ‘yung mga technicalities. Answer substantively ‘yung mga charges. ‘Yan ang gusto naming mangyayari,” Maggay said.
