Scraping off the rotten part of the fruit to prevent any further damage.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) perceives filing an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte as “necessary” following her refusal to answer questions on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) 2022 confidential funds.
(Cartoon by Kaiser Aaron Caya/The Communicator)
It can be recalled that Duterte has remained stubborn in answering questions related to her alleged misuse of the P125 million 2022 confidential funds. The probe started when her office had proposed a P2-billion OVP budget for 2025, failing to justify the purpose of such an amount. Consequently, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Representative France Castro has brought up the P73 million worth of notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit (COA) out of the P125 million confidential funds.
The Vice President, who was placed on a hot seat, resorted to personal attacks, questioning the House’s intent for a probe and claiming their plot to impeach her.
Based on Article XI, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution, the President, Vice President, and Justices may be subject to impeachment due to conviction of culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft, corruption, or other high crimes. In the history of Philippine politics, no Vice President has ever been impeached but rather appointed when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over and appointed Senator Teofisto Guingona as the Vice President.
In case of impeachment or sudden changes, with Duterte’s stubbornness to cooperate in the check-and-balance on her office’s expenses, is it right that the Vice President be subjected to impeachment?
Disrespectful and lacks transparency. As a public official, Duterte has deprived people of their right to be informed on how the public funds were used and has disrespected the check-and-balance process as prescribed by the Constitution for the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislative branches. Her incapability to answer simple questions regarding her office’s previous expenditures makes her unfit for public service, as she does not honor the due process of budget deliberation.
Incapable and lacks presidential potential. As provided by the constitution, the role of the Vice President is to take over the presidency in cases of impeachment, death, or permanent disability for the incumbent President. However, with Duterte’s deafening silence on the West Philippine Sea dispute, a legacy of intensified educational crises as the former Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary, and now her inability to explain how the P125 million confidential funds were spent in just 11 days, can she really become a reliable replacement if currently, she refuses to be held accountable by simply answering questions and unwillingness in addressing these issues?
How can she be worthy of the Presidency if she perceives the demand for transparency of the Filipinos through the representatives elected as a means of political propaganda rather than the bare minimum expected of a public servant?
Lastly, in case the probe leads to eventually proving the existence of corruption of the confidential funds, graft and corruption may solidify the impeachment grounds for Duterte. Her stubbornness may suffice at the moment, but once it persists, this may trigger an investigation, which is also crucial as no answer can be extracted from the Vice President’s mouth. The Filipinos deserve nothing but the truth about how the taxes paid are being used and uphold the right to demand even from the highest governing official, as the right to information is constitutional.
To the people, keep in mind the power you uphold isn’t lost the moment they are elected, as public servants are supposed to disclose fully how public funds are being used. This is not an extra mile that should be expected from them but rather a bare minimum that comes with the power vested in them as they occupy seats in the government. Regardless, they should conform to this process, and no one shall be exempted, not even the Vice President of the Philippines.
To the government, continue to extract the truth from the Vice President. Uphold that she has no means to exclude herself from the budget approval process, not even in investigating how the confidential funds were spent. Having been elected means people trust you to represent them on their behalf.
A part of the fruit that is rotten should be scraped out to prevent further spread of decay. In a country with a fragile democracy, there should be no more room for officials who don't honor the people they serve and the due process they should be abiding by. If the Vice President continues to assert what she wants to happen more than what she is required to do, and if her kind is the next in line to the Presidency, should anything hold the government back from impeaching her out of her seat?
Article: Danielle C. Barredo
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