Akbayan Party-list Rep. Mader Perci Cendaña and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Friday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte for allegedly avoiding the House impeachment proceedings, calling out what they described as a stark contrast between her earlier rhetoric and current actions.

“Hindi nakakapagtaka. Expected na ‘yan. Korap lang ang ayaw humarap (Not surprising, That’s expected. Only the corrupt are afraid to face charges),” Cendaña alleged in his post on X.

“May pa-‘bloodbath, bloodbath’ pang sinasabi noon. Sa simpleng committee hearing nga ay takot na takot ngayon (She was earlier talking about a bloodbath. Now, she is afraid to attend a simple committee hearing),” De Lima said in a separate post on X, taking aim at the Vice President’s absence from the ongoing proceedings.

De Lima also urged the Supreme Court to refrain from entertaining moves that, in her view, are being used to sidestep accountability.

“This time, the Supreme Court should tell VP Sara to stop using them to evade accountability. Hindi dapat pumayag ang Korte na palagi na lang silang ginagawang takbuhan ni Sara sa pag-iwas niya sa pananagutan sa batas (the SC should not accede to always being used by Sara to evade accountability),” De Lima said in a separate statement.

She also emphasized that impeachment proceedings fall squarely within the authority of the House of Representatives.

“Initiation of an impeachment case, which covers the proceedings before the Committee of Justice, is the House’s exclusive domain. When we respect that, we also respect and uphold the constitutional edict on separation of powers,” she said.

While noting that she has yet to review the full petition filed before the High Court, De Lima said the move itself raises questions.

“We have yet to see and read the full text of the petition, but whatever their arguments are, it is obvious that VP Sara is showing signs of desperation in trying to evade accountability (once again!) by not facing the impeachment proceedings,” she said.

The remarks come amid mounting scrutiny over Duterte’s absence from the House Committee on Justice hearings, where lawmakers are proceeding with the impeachment process and evaluating evidence to determine whether probable cause exists for transmittal to the Senate for trial.

Several lawyers have asked the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order to block the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President, including hearings, deliberations, voting on subpoenas, compulsory processes, committee reports, resolutions, recommendations, and any committee or plenary proceedings anchored.

The lawyers also want the SC to declare that the House committee on justice gravely abused its powers or discretion when it sustained the third and fourth impeachment complaints against the Vice President, despite allegedly being insufficient in form and substance.

On Wednesday, Duterte’s camp said they snubbed the House Committee on Justice hearing over its chairman’s use of the term “mini trial.” (PNA)