HOUSE leaders are leaving it up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine Vice President Sara Duterte’s criminal liability over alleged death threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, even as the House of Representatives tackles an impeachment complaint covering the same allegations.
Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman emphasized the separation of powers, saying that Congress will focus on the impeachment process while the DOJ handles potential criminal liability.
“That is a totally separate and independent process, kanya-kanya tayo ng trabaho. Basta as far as we are concerned, we have a mandate to process this impeachment complaint,” Roman said.
The chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality stressed the need for government agencies to work independently and transparently.
“We’re not the ones who are going to tell the Justice Department to do their work. But we should let our government agencies do their work freely, independently, with transparency, with honesty,” Roman added.
Assistant Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre explained the distinction between the impeachment process in Congress and the DOJ’s criminal investigation.
“Importante para sa mga tao na maunawaan ang pagkakaiba ng proseso ng DOJ at ‘yung ginagawa ho natin sa Kongreso,” said Acidre, House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs chairman.
He continued, “Sa DOJ po ito’y separate na proseso ng ehekutibo, involving the criminal liability ng Vice President. Iba po ito sa impeachment process sa Mababang Kapulungan, which is a politically legislative procedure.”
The impeachment complaint filed by civil society and religious groups on Monday accuses Vice President Duterte of culpable violations of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust and high crimes. Among these allegations are the reported death threats she supposedly made against the country’s top leaders.
To recall, Duterte previously claimed during a press conference that an assassin could target President Marcos, the First Lady and Speaker Romualdez if she is killed.
