VP Sara Duterte mum on impeachment

National

“I HAVE no feelings about the impeachment.”

This was Vice President Sara Duterte’s curt reply when asked to comment on being impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives.

In her first public response on the impeachment, Duterte said the matter is now being handled entirely by her legal counsels as it has become a legal process.

“A spokesperson and defense team have already been assigned for the impeachment,” Duterte said in an interview in The Hague this week.

The House of Representatives earlier voted to impeach Duterte, with 257 lawmakers in favor, 25 against, and nine abstaining.

The approved Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on Wednesday, May 12.

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said the upper chamber will proceed without delay once the impeachment papers are formally transmitted, indicating that preparations for the trial are already underway.

Duterte’s legal camp, through spokesperson Michael Poa, said her 16-member defense team is ready for a full trial.

Poa also rejected claims from some lawmakers that alleged unexplained wealth and documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council amount to what they described as “smoking gun” evidence.

He maintained that the defense will address all allegations during the proper legal proceedings rather than through public debate.

In a separate but related development, legal complaints involving Duterte’s family have also expanded.

Her husband, Manases Carpio, filed an amended complaint before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, naming additional officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission as respondents.

The amended filing included SEC Chairman Francis Edralin Lim and Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado, alongside earlier respondents in the case involving alleged unauthorized disclosure of financial records.

Carpio alleged that confidential financial data including bank transactions, insurance payments, investments, time deposits, and utility records were disclosed during a House committee hearing on April 22, in violation of bank secrecy laws, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and data privacy rules.

He also pointed to the structure of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas led AMLC, where the BSP governor serves as chair and the SEC and IC heads are members, arguing that the disclosure reflected institutional coordination.

Carpio had earlier filed complaints against AMLC officials, lawmakers, and other individuals over the same alleged incident.

In response, officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission said in written correspondence that their actions were within legal authority and consistent with their respective mandates.

SEC Chairman Francis Edralin Lim, in a reply-letter dated May 4, said the Anti-Money Laundering Council acts strictly in accordance with the law and its institutional mandate, according to filings, while Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado likewise maintained that their actions fell within their legal mandate.

Carpio maintained that these statements support his claim that the disclosure of financial records was authorized by the full council.(MyTVCebu)