House Leaders Confident SC Will Uphold VP Impeachment

Members of the House of Representatives expressed confidence yesterday that the Supreme Court will uphold the legality of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying that the House strictly followed due process in endorsing the complaint.

- With Marc Jayson Cayabyab

"All were done through the proper process," House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said.

Ortega dismissed allegations that the House committed procedural violations, stressing that any legal challenge to the impeachment is merely a delaying tactic.

"Confidently, I can say that the House did not violate any laws or policy that are being thrown to us. It is just their counter to delay the proceedings," he added. "I am very confident that this will not be a stumbling block to the impeachment."

For his part, House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun echoed this, underscoring that the impeachment process was carried out with full adherence to legal requirements and constitutional guidelines.

"We have seen that Congress has carefully followed the proper process and we studied and followed religiously the laws on impeachment," he added.

Khonghun also pointed out that the legal maneuvering from the Vice President's camp appears to be a deliberate effort to stall the impeachment process.

"I think this is just one of the delaying tactics of the camp of the Vice President," he said. "They are trying to delay the impeachment trial because they find it hard to explain the incidence of misused public funds in the impeachment trial," Khonghun added.