“All public officials…should realize what they are getting from the government is the people’s money and it is their duty to use it honestly”
FROM where I sit, I believe Vice President Sara Duterte will be impeached, Santa Banana!
It is now a matter of the House of Representatives elevating the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Most likely it will be after the Christmas holidays, when the session of Congress will resume.
The House, with all the critics of the Vice President supporting her impeachment, appears to be in a hurry to elevate the impeachment case of the Vice President, to the extent of adopting the Villar-type of impeachment, like in the case of the impeachment of former President Erap Estrada, by simply gathering the votes of one-third of the membership of the House which is required by law for impeachment, and then have the plenary session confirm it.
The Articles of Impeachment include betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and even alleged involvement in extra-judicial killings.
Once the Articles of Impeachment are elevated to the Senate, the Senate like a court of law will judge the VP. Like I said from the start, an impeachment trial is both legal and mostly political in nature.
Just who will prosecute Sara is not yet known, but more likely they will be members of the Quad Committee of the House. And who will be the defense team? Most likely, the same lawyers of the Duterte administration.
The most telling offense allegedly committed by Sara Duterte are the misuse and abuse of the millions of pesos of the confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President, like what the Philippine Statistics Authority announced that of the 667 recipients of the funds of the Vice President and when Sara was still secretary of education 405 were non-existent whether by birth, marriage or death.
It became worse when the PSA also stated that 1992 recipients of Sara’s confidential funds need to be verified.
Santa Banana, all these constitute the crime of plunder.
Just how Sara will defend herself in the face of the non-existent recipients of her confidential and intelligence funds is a matter of speculation.
As a lawyer myself, the question is why did Sara, a lawyer, allow all these things to happen when she knew essentially it would be brought against her. And the question is, Santa Banana, who was in cahoots with her? Who in her staff did all these monkey businesses? All these things will be known eventually.
What I cannot understand is why Sara Duterte committed all these things knowing that all the confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education will be audited by the Commission of Audit. My gulay, that’s pure and simple graft and corruption!
All this brings up the need for COA to find out the names of all the public officials receiving confidential and intelligence funds and misusing and abusing its privilege under the national budget.
An interesting question is: How will the people react to Sara’s impeachment? From all indications, the people, I believe, will accept it. The Duterte allies and supporters will protest. After all, what is important is that the legislators have a Constitutional duty to impeach impeachable officials.
Following these, what is imperative is all public officials, especially those given the privilege of getting confidential funds, should realize what they are getting from the government is the people’s money and it is their duty to use it honestly.
