Palace refutes VP Sara’s ouster claim

Malacañang on Saturday pushed back against claims made by Vice President Sara Duterte that the Senate's dismissal of her impeachment case was an act against the Marcos Jr. administration, saying the executive branch had no hand in initiating or pushing for her ouster.

In an ambush interview, Palace Press Officer, Undersecretary Claire Castro, clarified that the impeachment complaint against Duterte originated from the House of Representatives, not from the executive department.

“Unang-una, siguro dapat paalalahanan ang ating Bise Presidente na hindi ang administrasyon ni Marcos Jr., hindi ang Ehekutibo ang nagsampa or nag-submit ng articles of impeachment kundi ang House of Representatives (First of all, perhaps the Vice President should be reminded that it was not the Marcos Jr. administration, not the Executive, that filed or submitted the articles of impeachment, but the House of Representatives),” Castro said.

The Palace officer also emphasized that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has consistently maintained a non-interventionist stance in both the legislative and judicial processes concerning Duterte’s impeachment.

“Kung meron mang sinasabi na laban [ang desisyon], laban kanino? Most probably, laban ito sa House of Representatives, sa mga prosecutors, at sa mga nagnanais na malaman ang katotohanan tungkol sa confidential funds (If there are claims that the decision is against someone, against whom exactly? Most probably, it's against the House of Representatives, the prosecutors, and those who want to uncover the truth about the confidential funds),” she added.

Denying ‘Kuwait travel story’

Meanwhile, Castro addressed Duterte’s claim that the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) fabricated stories about her supposed trip to Kuwait without proper travel authority.

The Palace official explained that during a previous briefing, the OP was merely responding to media inquiries about the Vice President's whereabouts.

“Natanong lamang tayo nito dahil hinahanap siya, at mukhang hindi rin alam ng kanyang spokesperson kung nasaan ang bise presidente. At ang sabi natin dito, wala tayong alam sa ating panayam, sa ating press briefing, wala tayong alam o impormasyon patungkol dito at tinanong natin ang Office of the Executive Secretary kung may travel authority (We were only asked about this because she was being looked for, and it seemed even her spokesperson didn’t know where the Vice President was. And what we said was that we had no knowledge during our interview, during our press briefing—we had no information about it, so we asked the Office of the Executive Secretary if there was a travel authority),” Castro said. 

According to her, as of the briefing at that time, Duterte had an approved travel authority only from July 5 to 28.

Castro underscored that the Palace never confirmed or claimed that Duterte had traveled to Kuwait, dismissing accusations of misinformation.

“Definitely, wala tayong binanggit na siya ay nag-travel sa Kuwait... Sana maging responsable rin ang mga nagtatanong sa Bise Presidente para hindi siya maging source ng fake newskasi sumasagot siya nang hindi niya nadidinig kung ano ‘yung sinabi natin (Definitely, we never said that she traveled to Kuwait... Hopefully, those asking the Vice President questions can also be responsible, so that she doesn't become a source of fake news—because she responds without actually hearing what we said),” she added. 

SC decision

When asked whether the administration would respect the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Vice President’s impeachment case, Castro reaffirmed that the Executive will abide by the high court’s final decision.

“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of any legal issues. Kung anuman ang magiging desisyon, ito ay igagalang ng Pangulo at ng Ehekutibo (hatever the decision may be, it will be respected by the President and the Executive),” she stressed. 

Meanwhile, Castro hinted that the OP would not obstruct Duterte’s movements, but stressed the need for proper procedures in the vice president’s future travels. 

“Muli sasabihin natin, kapag hindi ‘yan na-isyuhan ng travel authority gagawa na naman ito ng kwento sasabihin na diktador ang pamahalaang ito dahil ang freedom of movement niya ay sinasaklawan (Once again, we’ll say this: if she isn’t issued a travel authority, she’ll make up stories again and claim that this government is a dictatorship because her freedom of movement is being restricted),” she said. 

“So kung balak niyang magbyaheng muli sa iba’t ibang bansa, nasa kanya na po ‘yan (if she plans to travel again to different countries, that’s entirely up to her),” she added.

When further asked about Duterte’s usage of leave days for personal trips, Castro said she was not certain whether the Vice President had exceeded her allowable leave credits but noted that such trips are typically justified as personal

“Alam ko meron pong partikular, may mga araw na ma-consider siya — mandatory, vacation leave. So hindi po natin alam as of now kung lumagpas na ba siya diyan. But still, kahit lumagpas siya diyan, sasabihin naman po niya na personal trips niya ‘yan. So nasa kanya po ‘yan,” said Castro.