By Raymund F. Antonio, Hannah L. Torregoza, Charissa M. Luci, and Elson A. Qjismorio
Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo said yesterday she would reach out to President Duterte to “clear the misinformation” that the Liberal Party (LP) is mounting moves to oust him. “I plan to clarify this with the President and assure him of the party’s commitment to the reforms for our Filipino people,” she said.
Liberal Party leaders in both the Senate and the House joined in denying any involvement in any move to impeach President Duterte. Senate President Protempore Franklin Drilon said that if there any such plot, the LP has nothing to do with it. Former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said an impeachment could not possibly prosper, considering the popularity of the President.
Robredo, the highest elected official of the once ruling party, said she planned to meet with Duterte. She was in Dipolog City to visit the Olingan Housing and Relocation Site.
Duterte had accused the LP the other day of plotting his ouster on the issue of human rights violations. “Let’s not fool ourselves. Do you know who’s behind this? It’s the yellow,” the President said in reference to the party’s political color. “They think that if they can build a case against me, I’ll be impeached,” he said.
Saying the LP has no such plan, the Vice President said the party has been “consistently demonstrating its support to this administration.” She pointed out that members of the party have coalesced with the majority in both the House and the Senate.
Robredo, who holds a Cabinet rank as chairwoman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), declared that she is one with the administration in the implementation of programs.
“We’ve offered the anti-poverty programs and policies that I’ve been pushing for to complement the government’s priorities on poverty alleviation,” she said. “We’ve been coordinating with the relevant government agencies so that our office can help in the rehabilitation effort that needs to accompany the campaign against illegal drugs.”
Drilon, De Lima
Drilon recalled that Duterte had assailed alleged an attempt by “yellow forces” to kick him out of Malacañang during a speech before a Filipino community in Jakarta, Indonesia, before his meeting with President Joko Widodo.
“Hindi po sinabi ng Pangulo kung sino yung mga yellow. But on the part of the Liberal Party, wala po kaming binabalak na ganun, (The President did not identify who these yellow people are. But on the part of the LP we are not planning such a thing),” Drilon said in an interview.
“We have not met on this and we deny that we are part of such plot if indeed such plot exists. The Liberal Party has nothing to do with it,” he said.
Sen. Leila de Lima also rejected the allegation. “Naku, Diyos ko, saan na naman nanggaling yan? Malaking kasinungalingan po yan (Where did that allegations come from? That’s a big lie)” she said.
“There is no such plot. Maybe they are looking at me, since I’m a member of the LP and since I am (part of the) a ‘yellow’ group. So maybe that is part of their interpretation of what I am doing, what I am saying,” De Lima said.
No chance – Belmonte
Former Speaker and Quezon City Rep. Belmonte said any supposed ouster plot will not prosper given Duterte’s overwhelming popularity and the solid support his congressional allies are extending to his administration.
The vice chairman of the LP said there is no chance that the House will support an impeachment move. “Definitely, LP is not a ‘Trojan horse’,” Belmonte said. There are 33 LP members in the Lower Chamber, 28 of who are allied with the super-majority led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
“The chance of an impeachment is zero,” he said. “First, he is overwhelmingly popular which amounts to a public approval of his programs. Secondly he has overwhelming majority in the House where impeachment starts.”
“We should think positively as people. Let’s look forward to having great achievements instead of talking about negative things like impeachment,” Belmonte said.
“We flatly deny it,” Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman said at his group’s weekly press conference at the House. He said LP members who refer to themselves as the “legitimate” minority in the House are not plotting any impeachment of the President.
Duterte has, time and again, prodded Congress to file an impeachment complaint against him if the lawmakers do not like the way he is running state affairs.
But Northern Samar 1st District Rep. Raul Daza said an impeachment complaint won’t prosper, given the current make-up of the House. “I second the statement of Edcel Lagman on the denial of an LP plot to impeach president,” he said.
“As you know, 28 out of the 33 members of the House are with the super-majority. In fact one of the deputy speakers is Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Miro Quimbo of the LP,” Daza said. “We can safely say that as far as LP members of the House are concerned, both those who are with the majority and our group, we have not even talked about impeachment. We all know that under the Constitution, the process of impeachment begins in the House.”
Duterte’s party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), is the current ruling party in the House. Speaker Alvarez is a close friend of Duterte.
Another LP solon in the “Legitimate Minority,” Caloocan City 2nd district Rep. Edgardo Erice, said,
“As far as I know, the LP isn’t talking about impeachment. We shouldn’t talk about that. That is harmful for the country, our economy. We’re here, we’re on the same boat, we want Duterte’s presidency to succeed,” he said.
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