MASADA: House panel accused of overstepping roles in case vs. VP Sara Duterte

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY— The Masa Sara Duterte Alliance (MASADA) said on Wednesday that members of the House Committee on Justice have gone too far by acting as prosecutor, judge, and executioner in handling the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Benito Ranque, founding chairman, told DAILY TRIBUNE that the House panel, after initiating what it calls “Chopsuey, recycled” impeachment complaint,  is now conducting a mini trial which is beyond its power.

“The panel that voted to issue the subpoena is now acting as judges; later, they will decide the guilt of Inday Sara”, he said.

MASADA, in an earlier statement, said that the two impeachment complaints being deliberated by the House Committee on Justice were the same narratives in the first impeachment complaint declared by the Supreme Court void and in violation of the one-year ban.

The statement said the House Secretary General has transmitted all the documents for impeachment to the House Speaker, who, in turn, transmitted the complaint to the committee on rules to the Justice committee.

It said the committee on justice was supposed to consolidate the four impeachment but the justice panel debilitated the complaint separately and ruled that the first impeachment violated the one-year ban.

“The committee excluded the first complaint but deliberated the other complaint, making it like a chopsuey” it  said

The statement said that when the first complaint was filed on Feb 2,  the countdown started, and while the other complaints were later with the same narratives with different endorsement they were practically consolidated when the committee on rules transmitted it to the justice.

Ranque said instead of voting to issue a subpoena, the panel should have voted on whether the complaints were probable grounds and transmitted it to the plenary for voting and transmitted it forthright to the  Senate, where an actual trial will be conducted.