Vice President Sara Duterte has pleaded “not guilty” in the impeachment complaint filed against her by the House of Representatives, which she referred to as just a “scrap of paper.”
In a 35-page Answer Ad Cautelam to the impeachment trial summons, which was officially received by the House of Representatives (HOR) on Monday, the vice president argued that the fourth impeachment complaint should be dismissed entirely, stating that it is void ab initio because it lacks final evidence, violates the one-year prohibition rule, and amounts to a blatant abuse of the impeachment process.
In February this year, the HOR impeached Duterte on charges of graft, corruption, and an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In her response, the vice president states that since there are no statements of ultimate facts so there is nothing for the vice president to answer.
According to the copy of Duterte’s reply, the vice president only admitted “paragraphs 5 and 6 in so far as they allege her personal circumstances, election, assumption to the Office of the Vice President, and he previous offices as Mayor and Vice Mayor of Davao City.”
It also stated that the remainder of the allegations, including the annexes and so-called “evidence” attached to the Fourth Impeachment Complaint, are specifically denied for being false, misleading, impertinent, and mere conclusions of fact and law, subject to the affirmative allegations and defenses.
Earlier this month, the Senate voted 18-5 to return the impeachment complaint against the vice president to the HOR for further action, including ordering the HOR to submit an attestation that it has complied with the 1987 Constitution, particularly on the One-Year Bar Rule, when it initiated the Fourth Impeachment Complaint.
The Senate also ordered HOR to ratify a resolution approved by the 20th Congress that it is ratifying the acts of the HOR of the 19th Congress, affirming its determination to pursue and prosecute the Fourth Impeachment Complaint.
“From the foregoing, one fact is clear: there are no Articles of Impeachment presently with this Court,” the copy of Duterte’s reply stated.
According to reports, the House prosecutors now have five days to respond to the vice president’s answers.
The vice president is currently on a trip to Australia to meet with Filipino supporters. She recently graced the “Free Duterte Now” rally held at Parliament Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
