The House of Representatives Committee on Justice will ensure fairness in the implementation of all rules on impeachment as the proceedings to determine substance in the complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte nears, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said Saturday.
The House will tackle the four impeachment complaints against Duterte beginning March 2 to determine if there is sufficiency in substance.
“Siyempre ang commitment ng House Committee on Justice ay ipapatupad natin lahat ng relevant rules sa impeachment na ipinatupad din natin in previous impeachment proceedings katulad noong impeachment proceeding po ni Pangulong Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. (Of course, the commitment of the House Committee on Justice is that we will implement all of the relevant rules on impeachment like how they were implemented in previous impeachment proceedings such as the impeachment proceedings of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.),” Ridon said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
“Commitment din ng committee na magiging fair ‘yung pagpapatupad ng aming mandato sa bagay na ito (It is also the commitment of the committee to be fair in the implementation of its mandate),” he added.
The impeachment raps were filed by the Makabayan Coalition (Kabataan, Gabriela and ACT Teachers party-list groups) and lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera and civil society groups.
The complaint endorsed by the Makabayan bloc cited betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse of public funds, while the other complaint accused Duterte of culpable violations of the constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.
Ridon said it is up to the camp of Duterte if she would attend the proceedings.
“Ibinibigay po natin sa Pangalawang Pangulo ang karapatan na magpakita at hindi magpakita sa ating mga proseso (We are giving the Vice President the right to show or not show in our proceedings),” he said.
“Depende kung paano ilalatag ‘yung depensa ng Pangalawang Pangulo, sila ang magpapasya kung makakatulong ba sa kanilang kaso ‘yung pagpapakita o pagharap ng ating Bise Presidente (It all depends on how the defense of the Vice President will be laid out. It is up to them to decide if the Vice President’s attendance will be helpful to their case).” (PNA)