LAWMAKERS in the House of Representatives have vehemently denied allegations that aid was offered in exchange for signatures on the fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The denial comes after Ronald Cardema, chair of the Duterte Youth party-list, claimed that funds were presented to congressmen, but were subject to “for later release” (FLR) conditions. He suggested that the promise of funds influenced some members to sign the impeachment complaint.
“I heard there were funds set aside for later release. It means it’s a conditional release of funds. So if you have promised millions or hundreds of millions of funds and you do not commit yesterday, maybe it won’t be released because it’s for later release. FLR. There were promises made yesterday for later release,” Cardema said in a radio interview.
During a press conference, one of the 11 impeachment prosecutors, Rep. Rodrigo, strongly refuted Cardema’s claims. He anticipated the spread of misinformation and disinformation following the impeachment proceedings.
“This smear campaign has already started in this process. Actually, I personally expect that a lot of misinformation and fake news would be coming out after the filing of the complaint,” said Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong.
Speculation regarding ‘ayuda’ in exchange for signatures intensified after a social media post allegedly from Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan Suan surfaced. The post, purportedly addressed to Suan’s constituents, stated, “…to my supporters, I know you stand with me. Rest assured that aid is coming.” Adiong clarified that Suan denied the post’s authenticity after being contacted by the impeachment team.
“Well, yes, this morning, I spoke with; we spoke with Congressman Lordan Suan. First of all, he categorically denied that it’s not true. It’s one of the ways, as I said, fake news,” Adiong explained.
Despite the fake news circulating, the impeachment team remains undeterred. They anticipate an escalation of false information in the coming days but will continue to fulfill their constitutional mandate.
“I’ll just add this to the fake news peddlers. We will stand by our obligation and the mandate given to us by the constitution no matter what you do,” the Muslim lawmaker added.
