MANILA — Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Friday, March 27, intensified their criticism of Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing her of deliberately evading accountability by skipping the ongoing House impeachment proceedings.
They pointed to what they described as a glaring contradiction between the Vice President’s previous defiant rhetoric and her current refusal to participate in the House Committee on Justice hearings.
“Hindi nakakapagtaka. Expected na ‘yan. Korap lang ang ayaw humarap (Not surprising, That’s expected. Only the corrupt are afraid to face charges),” Cendaña alleged in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The criticism follows mounting scrutiny over Duterte’s absence as the committee evaluates evidence to determine if probable cause exists to transmit the impeachment case to the Senate for trial.
De Lima joined the fray, referencing Duterte’s previous public statements while questioning her current stance. “May pa-‘bloodbath, bloodbath’ pang sinasabi noon. Sa simpleng committee hearing nga ay takot na takot ngayon (She was earlier talking about a bloodbath. Now, she is afraid to attend a simple committee hearing),” De Lima said in a separate post on X.
Beyond the social media exchanges, De Lima issued a formal statement urging the Supreme Court to remain impartial and avoid being used as a shield against legislative oversight.
“This time, the Supreme Court should tell VP Sara to stop using them to evade accountability. Hindi dapat pumayag ang Korte na palagi na lang silang ginagawang takbuhan ni Sara sa pag-iwas niya sa pananagutan sa batas (the SC should not accede to always being used by Sara to evade accountability),” De Lima said.
The former senator and current party-list representative emphasized that the impeachment process is a constitutional mandate exclusive to the legislature.
“Initiation of an impeachment case, which covers the proceedings before the Committee of Justice, is the House’s exclusive domain. When we respect that, we also respect and uphold the constitutional edict on separation of powers,” she said.
While De Lima noted she has yet to review the specific legal petitions filed by the Vice President’s camp before the High Court, she argued that the timing and intent appear clear.
“We have yet to see and read the full text of the petition, but whatever their arguments are, it is obvious that VP Sara is showing signs of desperation in trying to evade accountability (once again!) by not facing the impeachment proceedings,” she said.| PNA
