Rody lawyers for Sara? It's OK - Barbers

There is no problem if former president Rodrigo Duterte will act as a lawyer for his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, in the three impeachment complaints filed against her before the House of Representatives, according to Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

- By JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

"It is the right of anybody facing trial, like an impeachment complaint trial, to choose his own lawyer to represent him," he told Teleradyo Serbisyo yesterday.

"That is guaranteed, not just by the Constitution, but also the rules of our Congress. I don't see any problem with that," he added.

Barbers, lead chair of the House quad committee, noted that congressmen and the House leadership have not yet discussed the impeachment complaints against the Vice President.

"I don't know what are the discussions about those that were filed in Congress and what will happen when Congress opens its session. I don't know anything about it," he said.

The Vice President earlier said her father will help defend her in the legal storm she is expected to face in 2025.

Civil society groups led by Akbayan on Dec. 2, the progressive Makabayan bloc on Dec. 4 and a group of lawyers and priests on Dec. 19 filed impeachment complaints against Duterte.

The first complaint cited 24 Articles of Impeachment covering alleged violations of the 1987 Constitution, starting from when Duterte was Davao City mayor in 2007 up to the time she was elected Vice President in 2022 and served concurrently as education secretary.