Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday dismissed the ongoing impeachment efforts against her as a political show, saying her lawyers will handle her legal battles while she remains focused on other matters.
Duterte was in Davao City for the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the city government of Davao, through Peace 911, and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd) Davao City Schools Division, for the implementation of peacebuilding programs, projects, and activities in the city.
Asked by reporters whether she would personally appear in her upcoming impeachment proceedings, Duterte responded with sarcasm before explaining that her legal team would represent her.
“Anong ibig sabihin, ma’am? Manonood ako doon sa kanilang sarsuela?” she said.
She said she has yet to be summoned and maintained that the appearance and participation of her lawyers constitute her participation in the legal process.
“Wala pa namang pagpapatawag sa akin, eh. At ’yon, sabi ko nga, ang impeachment ay isang legal na proseso, at ’yong pagpunta ng aking mga abogado doon, ay ’yon ’yung aking appearance at participation doon sa proseso na ’yon,” she said.
Duterte also said she remains unfazed by the legal challenges she is facing, including the impeachment proceedings and other cases.
“Okay lang naman ako. Wala naman akong problema. ‘Yung legal na mga problema ko, tulad ng impeachment at iba’t iba pang kaso, binigay ko sa mga abogado na para asikasuhin nila,” she said.
Duterte made the remarks on the sidelines of a writeshop focused on developing peacebuilding modules for National Peace Consciousness Month.
She also raised concerns over what she described as the aggressive recruitment of students by leftist groups, particularly the Makabayan bloc.
“Nakikita natin na sa ating mga paaralan, lalong-lalo na sa ating mga colleges and universities, napakalakas at napakabilis ng recruitment ng Makabayan bloc sa ating mga estudyante,” Duterte said.
She stressed the importance of strengthening young people’s values, attitudes and behavior so they can recognize what she described as potentially harmful recruitment efforts.
“Lalong-lalo na na dapat ma-establish ’yung kanilang values, tamang attitude, at proper behavior para naiintindihan nila na kapag nire-recruit sila sa mga hindi kanais-nais na mga agenda, nakikita kaagad nila na, red flag ito. Hindi ako sasali dito kasi mali ito, at hindi ako sasali dito kasi posibleng masira ’yung buhay ko dito,” she said.
The OVP, DepEd Davao City Schools Division and Davao City’s Peace 911 Office are working together to develop the peacebuilding modules.
“We look forward to working with the Department of Education and the city government of Davao, specifically Peace 911 office, to create the peacebuilding modules that we will be able to roll out in other parts of the country,” Duterte said.
Meanwhile, Duterte declined to comment on former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s appearance via videoconference during his arraignment on a P7.4-billion plunder charge.
On the possibility of postponing the local elections, Duterte said she was opposed to any delay but acknowledged that the law would prevail.
“Dapat siya hindi ipostpone, pero syempre, kung ano ’yung nasa batas, ’yun ’yung masusunod. So kung merong postponement, ay ’yun ang masusunod at ’yun ang susundin ng Commission on Elections,” she said.
