House Deputy Majority Leader Francisco Paolo Ortega V of La Union on Sunday called on Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies to stop abusing legal processes in a desperate bid to divert public attention away from the real issues surrounding her impeachment.
In a statement, Ortega denounced the numerous cases filed almost daily or three times a week in the Supreme Court and Office of the Ombudsman against House leaders who upheld the rule of law in the impeachment process.
The lawmaker believes the cases were clearly meant to intimidate, harass and create media distractions, instead of seeking legitimate legal redress.
He was referring to the petitions filed by Duterte and lawyers defending her before the Supreme Court to block the impeachment proceedings last Tuesday, February 18.
“This is a clear abuse of legal processes. Instead of addressing the serious allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, the Vice President and her camp are wasting the time of our courts with frivolous cases designed to harass those who simply did their duty,” Ortega said.
“We hope VP Duterte would just face all of the accusations in the impeachment, which she has been trying to avoid in Congress,” he added.
The House of Representatives acted within its constitutional mandate in impeaching Duterte, Ortega said.
The La Union lawmaker warned that weaponizing the judiciary to sow fear among legislators and deflect public scrutiny would not work. “We see this for what it is—an attempt to intimidate the House, divert attention from the issues, and create noise to mislead the public.”
“But no amount of legal theatrics can erase the facts: there were serious and questionable transactions in the Vice President’s use of confidential funds and in the Department of Education under her watch,” he noted.
Ortega called on the Duterte camp to respect the democratic process instead of undermining institutions with a barrage of politically motivated legal maneuvers.
“If the Vice President is truly innocent, she should face the charges head-on and explain herself to the Filipino people, instead of resorting to harassment tactics. The public deserves the truth, not distractions,” he said.
The legislator assured the public that Congress would not be deterred from fulfilling its mandate of ensuring accountability no matter how many legal cases are filed in an attempt to suppress the truth.
“These intimidation tactics will not succeed. The House remains firm in its commitment to upholding transparency and accountability in government. We will not allow anyone — no matter how powerful — to evade scrutiny,” Ortega said.