House leaders are leaving it up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine Vice President Sara Duterte’s criminal liability for supposed death threats made against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez to allow lawmakers to deal with impeachment complaints filed against her.
Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman cited the separation of powers, saying that Congress would focus on the impeachment process, while the DOJ handles potential criminal liability.
“That is a totally separate and independent process. We have our own different jobs. As far as we are concerned, we have a mandate to process this impeachment complaint,” she said on Sunday.
Roman underscored 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,” the Bataan lawmaker stressed.
For his part, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre cited the distinction between the impeachment process in Congress and the DOJ’s criminal investigation.
“It is important for the people to understand the difference of the process of DOJ and Congress,” he stated.
Civil society organizations and religious groups filed an impeachment complaint against Duterte for culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
Meanwhile, Acidre brushed aside the Vice President’s claims of being marked for assassination, likening the supposed threat to the fabricated identities of “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin,” alleged recipients of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education.
He labeled Duterte’s assassination claims as “fake,” citing the statements of Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla and Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, who both said there were no credible threats against her.
“The supposed assassination threats against Vice President Duterte are fake — completely unfounded and baseless,” he said.
“They are as fabricated as the names Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin, which were used to justify the alleged misuse of confidential funds,” he added.
“If there were any threats, the only one we’ve heard making them is the Vice President herself,” referring to Duterte’s controversial remark in which she admitted hiring an assassin to target the First Couple and House Speaker in the event of her untimely demise.
For her part, Roman dismissed Duterte’s allegations, calling them baseless and suggesting they may be a plea for sympathy.
“Honestly, I have not felt or perceived any threat in the life of the Vice President,” she said.