THE impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should proceed in the proper forum and must not be derailed by what lawmakers described as false testimony, political distraction and an unauthorized Senate Blue Ribbon Committee proceeding.
House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon and former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers pushed back against the ongoing Senate activity involving alleged witnesses, saying the proceedings appeared designed to shift public attention from the impeachment case to allegations already facing court scrutiny.
“Kasinungalingan ang testimonya ni Jowly Cadiao. Walang maleta na idineliver sa akin sa kahit anumang panahon o sa kahit saan mang lugar,” Ridon, chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, stressed.
Ridon issued the denial after testimony in the disputed Senate proceeding linked him to an alleged delivery of a suitcase, an allegation he rejected outright as the Senate remained gripped by a leadership dispute and questions over the authority of the Blue Ribbon activity.
“Tandaan: Tuloy ang impeachment trial. Walang kasinungalingan o gawa-gawang testimonya ang makapipigil sa House prosecution panel na magtuloy sa paglalahad ng katotohanan sa paglilitis ng Pangalawang Pangulo,” Ridon stated.
Barbers, for his part, said the alleged witnesses who appeared before senators should explain themselves before the courts, especially after they had already been sued by personalities they previously implicated in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
“Sa korte na lang kayo magpaliwanag,” Barbers, former lead chairman of the House Quad Comm during the previous 19th Congress, said.
Barbers, ex-chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, described the ongoing activity as a political operation meant to cloud the impeachment proceedings against Duterte while also discrediting the House of Representatives and the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose jurisdiction over complaints involving former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has already been repeatedly upheld.
“While I cannot comment on the case I filed against these people, I would like to point out that the ongoing meeting is a serious political destabilization effort and meant to divert attention from the impeachment of VP Sara to the alleged flood control scandal. The people can discern that the show is about discrediting the House of Representatives as well as the ICC. The proper fora for such show are the local courts under whose jurisdictions the cases now fall and the ICC that has already ruled time and again as to its jurisdiction over complaints against former President Rodrigo Duterte,” Barbers said.
“That’s incredible! This is the tone now being sung by these people. Imagine their statements as to the source of the alleged payout money. Not a single one of them ever saw nor touched the alleged money. All they are saying are maletas, paper bags and envelopes. Any lawyer worth his salt will never dignify such story-telling—a lie by any witness. I hope that the proper courts are taking note of this charade in the name of justice,” Barbers said.
