The mere filing of impeachment cases against President Rodrigo Duterte does not violate any laws, Malacañang said Tuesday, noting that Filipino citizens had the “right” to file complaints.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said during a chance interview that the Chief Executive’s threat to jail anyone who will file an impeachment case against him “was only an expression of displeasure, disappointment.”
“It is a righteous indignation,” Panelo said.
The statement came days after Duterte threatened his critics with imprisonment if they tried to impeach him, amid backlash that he was siding with China over the June 9 Recto Bank incident last month.
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the chief architect of the country’s arbitration case against China in the West Philippine Sea dispute, has also criticized Duterte who allowed China to fish in the waters within the EEZ.
Last week, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Duterte could be impeached for breaching the Constitution that mandates him to defend the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone that should be enjoyed exclusively by Filipinos according to the Philippine Charter.
As a response to criticisms against him, Duterte said he would jail his critics.
“He cannot understand why critics and detractors cannot appreciate what he’s doing,” Panelo said to Malacañang reporters.
The Philippine National Police said earlier they would arrest those who would file an impeachment complaint against the President if Duterte would so order.
In a press conference, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also said his department would go by the law should police arrest those who would file impeachment complaints.
The statement of PNP Chief General Oscar Albayalde that they were “ready to arrest those who would want to impeach Duterte if they see that these people have violated the law” was extremely disheartening, said Senator Risa Hontiveros,
“Is it now the job of the PNP to intimidate people who only want to exercise their constitutional and democratic rights to hold our leaders accountable?” she asked.
She reminded the PNP chief that impeachment was a constitutional and democratic process that any Filipino citizen could avail of to exact accountability from impeachable public officials who might have seriously violated the Constitution and betrayed the public trust.
She noted it was part of the system of checks and balances to curtail the grave abuse of power and preserve the rule of law.
“To take part in it is not a crime nor an invitation for authorities to build a case against those who support such an initiative,” she said.
She said these created a chilling effect and sent the message to those who would want to avail themselves of the impeachment process to hold the President accountable that they would be subjected to police investigations and the possible filing of charges.
“Why would the PNP Chief even insinuate possible violations on the part of those who criticize the President, if not to intimidate and threaten them?”
Whether or not the President has committed impeachable offenses, Hontiveros said, was the task of the legislature to scrutinize and determine based on a verified impeachment complaint.
Albayalde clarified that the arrest would not be immediate.
“There should be an investigation. You cannot just point to anybody and then get them. There will always be an investigation before you can make an arrest,” said Albayalde.
Albayalde said among the violations of the law that might be used to arrest those who would file an impeachment complaint against the President were sedition and libel.
He also clarified that the PNP had yet to receive instructions from the President regarding the matter. With PNA
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