Duterte camp hits prosecution, Senate majority over dropped articles

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp on Wednesday blasted both the House prosecution panel and the Senate majority over the withdrawal of three of the four articles of impeachment against her, claiming it wasted millions of pesos.

Duterte’s spokesperson, Paolo Panelo Jr., made the pronouncement after Articles I, III and IV against the vice president were dropped by the prosecution, leaving allegations of unexplained wealth and nondisclosure of assets as the sole remaining basis for the trial.

READ: From 4 to 1: Impeach court OKs reduced raps vs Sara Duterte

In a statement, Panelo noted that 20 total trial days were spent on Articles I and IV—which dealt with allegations of misuse of confidential funds and grave threats, respectively.

“That is approximately P25 million in Senate operating costs per day, or P500 million of taxpayers’ money, consumed on charges that will never be voted on,” he said in a statement.

This figure, he added, did not even include the “wasted” salaries of Congress members in the trial, lawyers, media, consultants and media creators (whom he claimed were also paid by the government), as well as the so-called “mini-trial” of the House of Representatives.

“I’m no expert on ‘sensitivity analysis’ but you could reasonably estimate that the total public cost of these now-abandoned articles easily exceeds P1 billion,” he said.

It should also be noted, however, that Panelo did not specify where he got these figures from.

READ: Impeachment court approves prosec’s move to drop 3 of 4 charges vs VP

Meanwhile, according to Panelo, the prosecution’s decision to withdraw three of the articles was “an admission that the allegations lacked basis from the very beginning,” as well as “an injustice and a denial of due process” since it deprived Duterte the opportunity to confront these accusations.

“More than that, it deprived her of the vindication of the acquittal she deserves if the Court ruled only on the basis of evidence and law,” he said.

Why is the Senate majority quiet?

Duterte’s mouthpiece also questioned the supposed “lack of outrage” by the Senate majority, challenging them why they weren’t angry enough since their time was supposedly wasted.

“Hindi ba kayo nagagalit na nagwaldas ang prosekusyon ng perang kasing laki o mas malaki pa sa confidential funds na linustay diumano ni VP Sara, na hanggang ngayon at kailanman ay hindi nila mapapatunayan?” pointed Panelo.

(Aren’t you angry that the prosecution squandered an amount of money equal to or even larger than the confidential funds allegedly misused by VP Sara, which they have never been able to prove, nor ever will?)

“Who is going to hold them accountable? A judge in a regular court would have at least given the prosecution a proper tongue lashing for wasting its time if this happened there,” he added.

He then accused them of being silent simply because it is also their goal to disqualify Duterte in the 2028 presidential elections, and that the numbers for conviction “are already locked in under the lower threshold.”

“The silence is deafening. Huwag naman kayong masyadong halata (do not be too obvious),” Panelo said. /jpv