MANILA, Philippines – Magsisimula ang mga miyembro ng House prosecution panel sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte sa kanilang presentasyon ng Articles of Impeachment sa Article 4 o ang kanyang deklarasyon na may inorganisa siyang paraan para patayin si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“I think we will just do it on a per article basis. So we will start with threats and then unexplained wealth, confidential funds misuse, and then bribery,” sinabi sa panayam ni Bicol Saro Representative Terry Ridon.
Sa media conference noong Nobyembre 23, 2024, sinabi ni Duterte na may kinuha siya para patayin si Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, at dating House Speaker Martin Romualdez kung siya rin ay mamamatay.
Nang tanungin kung bakit sila magsisimula sa huling article, sinabi ni Ridon na “I think ‘yun po ‘yung pinakasimple ‘yung mga ebidensya. Kasi like what we have previously stated, the evidence will speak for itself.”
Ngunit sinabi ni Ridon na kumpiyansa ang impeachment prosecution panel sa kanilang mga ebidensya para sa apat na Articles of Impeachment.
“On whichever ground, we have high confidence naman po that talaga makukumbinsi po natin yung mga mga senator-judges to convict the vice president,” ani Ridon.
Ang botohan kung kailangang managot si Duterte ay gagawin pagkatapos na maipresenta ng prosecution panel ang lahat ng Articles of Impeachment.
“I think the rule is present all and then make a decision by the senator-judges… You only need to secure one conviction on one article to basically remove the vice president from office,” sinabi pa ni Ridon.
Matatandaan na noong nakaraang linggo ay inimpeach ng Kamara si Duterte sa ikalawang pagkakataon sa apat na Articles:
Article 1: systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief
Article 2: amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official; failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse’s assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024; failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025
Article 3: giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws
Article 4: contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and the former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.
