By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
MANILA – The minimum 106 required votes to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte are “not difficult to reach,” House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts chair, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, said, citing the overwhelming evidence presented against the official.
“Kung ang minimum requirement lang ay 106, tingin ko hindi na iyon mahirap gawin votes (If the minimum requirement is just 106, I don’t think it would be difficult to reach), but at the very best, we would want to get 215 minimum number of votes,” he said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
Ridon said the financial trail forms a solid evidentiary foundation for the case, alongside allegations involving PHP612.5 million in alleged misused confidential funds, and supposed threats against the country’s top officials.
“Ang source of confidence natin (My source of confidence) would be the evidence presented during the proceedings itself. On fund misuse, sobrang linaw ng PHP448 million na pinapasoli sa pangalawang pangulo (the PHP448 million that the Vice President is being asked to return is very clear),” he said, citing the funds disallowed by the Commission on Audit.
“Sa usapin ng unexplained wealth, sobrang linaw ng PHP6.7 billion in total transactions ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio. Sa usapin ng pagbabanta, sobrang linaw ng pagbabanta (On the issue of unexplained wealth, there is also the PHP6.7 billion in total transactions of the Duterte-Carpio couple. The evidence is also clear that threats were made).”
The House Committee on Justice, in a unanimous vote, had found probable cause to impeach the Vice President.
The Constitution requires the vote of at least one-third of the 318 members of the House, or 106, for the articles of impeachment to be transmitted to the Senate.
Ridon said a committee meeting to approve the committee report will be convened on Monday, and the plenary will deliberate on the complaints “within the week, or next week.”
“Ang expectation natin diyan, within the next two weeks, we will have transmitted (it) to the Senate and have impeached the Vice President (Our expectation is that, within the next two weeks, we will have transmitted [it] to the Senate and have impeached the Vice President),” he said.
Meanwhile, he rejected claims by Duterte that the impeachment inquiry is a “fishing expedition,” reiterating that the figures presented in the hearing demonstrate that the inquiry is far from speculative.
“Hindi lang ho pating ang nakita natin. Balyena ho ang nakita doon sa PHP6.77 billion na pinag-uusapan (We have not only seen a shark, but a whale, with the PHP6.77 billion presented),” he said.
He likewise dismissed assertions by the Duterte camp that the impeachment complaints are defective, saying the argument has been recycled throughout the proceedings without basis. (PNA)
