VP Sara questions lawmakers’ certainty on impeachment

Vice President Sara Duterte answers questions after visiting her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, at the ICC detention center in The Hague, Netherlands. (Screengrab from Newswatch TV)

Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday she respects public opinion on calls for her impeachment but questioned the certainty expressed by some lawmakers, saying such assertions suggest prejudgment.

In a chance interview with supporters in The Hague, Duterte said she would leave ordinary Filipinos to their views, acknowledging that these reflect personal feelings she cannot change.

“Kung ordinary individuals lang naman yan, like ordinary Filipinos, pabayaan na natin yan, no? Kasi yan naman ‘yung opinion nila, yan naman ‘yung damdamin nila. Hindi ko naman mapabago ang nararamdaman ng isang tao,” she said.

(If they are just ordinary individuals, like ordinary Filipinos, let’s leave it alone, right? Because that’s their opinion, that’s their feeling. I can’t change someone’s feelings.)

“But it is different siguro kapag congressman na ‘yung nagsasabi or senator na ‘yung nagsasabi. Kasi magtatanong ka, bakit sobrang sigurado ka na tapos na ito?” she added.

(But it’s different when it’s a congressman or a senator saying it. Because you would ask, why are you so sure this is over?)

Earlier, House Committee on Public Accounts chairman Terry Ridon said the one-third vote needed to impeach Duterte and move the case to a Senate trial is “not difficult to surmount.”

He noted that the House Committee on Justice’s 53–0 vote finding probable cause on the consolidated impeachment complaint brings the chamber closer to securing the remaining 106 votes needed.

Asked about claims that there are already enough votes to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, Duterte said she could not comment, citing a lack of knowledge regarding the basis for such statements.

The Vice President also confirmed she obtained a new travel authority covering May 2 to 15 after revising her plans due to uncertainty over her departure.

She said the request was approved “last minute.” Malacañang denied the claim, saying the issuance followed standard procedures.

Duterte’s original itinerary included visits to the Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom from April 23 to May 15.

Her travel continues amid ongoing impeachment proceedings against her. — Katrina Manubay