December 4, 2024
Manila – Former Sen. Leila de Lima said on Tuesday that the House of Representatives can fast-track the impeachment complaint process against Vice President Sara Duterte if it wishes.
De Lima, who is also a spokesman for the complainants, said that despite the challenges and time constraints, especially as many House members are preparing for the 2025 midterm elections, they can still expedite the impeachment process if they prioritize it.
“Naisip po namin ‘yan, time may be limited. Pero ang pananaw ko po is kung gugustuhin nila, gagawan nila ng paraan. Kung gugustuhin nila, pwede nilang i-fast-track,” De Lima said in a Teleradyo interview.
(We realize there is a time limit. But my point is, if they really wanted to, they would find a way. They could fast track it if they wanted to.)
On Monday, House Secretary Reginald Velasco explained that the impeachment proceedings will take at least 130 days.
According to Velasco, he and House Speaker Martin Romualdez have 10 days to act on the impeachment complaint.
After that, the House Rules Committee and the Judiciary Committee will each have 60 days to consider it.
“All in all, this process is 130 days long. It’s just a few days, but some of them are session days. So that’s what any impeachment complaint would be,” Velasco said.
De Lima noted, however, that the House does not need to wait until the end of the 10-day session period to refer the impeachment complaint to the appropriate committee.
“Pwede naman Hindi i-maximize ‘youth na ‘yan. Pwede nilang bilisan, depende na ‘yan sa determination din nila,” she said.
(They don’t have to maximize the cycle. They can speed it up; it depends on their determination.)
She also mentioned that if the House is willing to act immediately on the complaint, it can submit its own impeachment resolution with the approval of one-third of the members.
“Then, alalahanin niyo po, may isang third mode na sa tingin ko mas mabilis, ‘yung diretso namismo ng Kamara, House of Representatives, na magpasa sila ng sarili nilang impeachment resolution na aaprubahan ng one-third of the members,” De Lima said.
(And then remember, there’s a third model, which I think is quicker, which is to go directly through the House of Representatives, where they pass their own impeachment resolution that can be approved by one-third of the members.)
In an interview, De Lima reiterated that there are 24 articles of impeachment in their complaint.
She stressed that among the 24, the most serious grounds for impeachment included “misuse of confidential and intelligence funds, unreliable expenses and cash advances, prohibition and suspension notices and audit committee allegations”.
According to De Lima, this is all seen as embezzlement, corruption and even plunder.
