Courtesy: Office of the Vice President
THE camp of Vice President Sara Duterte has filed her formal answer to the impeachment complaint, a move that follows the House Committee on Justice’s determination that the complaint was sufficient in form and substance.
The Vice President’s legal team submitted a consolidated answer ad cautelam, meaning it was filed as a precautionary measure, asserting that the complaint lacks “ultimate facts” to support the allegations against her.
Atty. Michael Poa, representing Vice President Duterte, stated that they raised due process concerns, arguing that the standards for determining the sufficiency of impeachment complaints have not been uniform, particularly when comparing the complaints against the President and the Vice President.
The allegations against Duterte include the supposed misuse of confidential funds and a threat made against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In their reply, Duterte’s camp urged the House justice panel to dismiss the impeachment complaints, asserting that the accusations do not constitute impeachable offenses.
Specifically addressing the alleged “contract to kill,” the reply states that the complainants failed to present any proof of such a contract’s existence. The Vice President’s team contends that the impeachment complainants relied on “exaggerated conclusions dressed up as fact,” which are then used to assert violations of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, high crimes, and intent to subvert constitutional order. The reply stated that exaggeration and inference alone cannot sustain allegations of such magnitude.
Regarding the Commission on Audit’s (COA) Notice of Disallowance (ND) for the P73 million in confidential funds used by the Office of the Vice President in 2022, Duterte’s camp stated that the ND is still under appeal.
They argue that the House Justice Committee disregarded their Petition for Review before the COA, which involves the same confidential funds forming the basis of the accusations.
The reply further points out that any COA ruling would still be subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court, and that the committee did not extend the same consideration as it did for impeachment complaints against the President.
The camp also dismissed the credibility of Ramil Madriaga, a confessed bagman included in the complaints, stating he is lying and that Duterte has sued him for perjury. The reply ends by saying that the impeachment complaints do not provide clear and believable evidence of wrongdoing, so they are asking for the complaints to be thrown out.
