Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday described the ongoing impeachment proceedings against her as a political show, saying she would leave the legal process to her lawyers while focusing on other matters.
Duterte made the remarks in Davao City, where she attended the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the city government, through Peace 911, the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and the Department of Education (DepEd) Davao City Schools Division for the implementation of peacebuilding programs.
Asked whether she would personally appear in the impeachment proceedings, Duterte responded sarcastically.
“Anong ibig sabihin, ma’am? Manonood ako doon sa kanilang sarsuela?” she said.
She said she had yet to be summoned and maintained that her lawyers’ participation constitutes her appearance 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 was unfazed by the legal challenges she faces, 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.
She made the remarks on the sidelines of a writeshop for the development of peacebuilding modules for National Peace Consciousness Month.
During the event, Duterte also raised concerns about 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,” she said.
She stressed the need to strengthen students’ values, attitudes and behavior so they can identify what she described as potentially harmful recruitment efforts.
The OVP, DepEd Davao City Schools Division and Davao City’s Peace 911 Office are jointly developing the peacebuilding modules, which Duterte said could eventually be rolled out in other parts of the country.
“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,” she 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 a possible postponement of the local elections, Duterte said she was against delaying the polls 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.
