House Deputy Majority Leader Francisco Paolo Ortega has accused Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies of abusing legal processes in an attempt to divert public attention from the core issues surrounding her impeachment.
Ortega criticized the Vice President’s recent legal actions, including petitions filed before the Supreme Court seeking to block the impeachment proceedings, calling them a blatant effort to intimidate, harass, and create media distractions rather than pursue legitimate legal redress.
“This is a clear abuse of legal processes. Instead of addressing the serious allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, the Vice President and her camp are wasting the time of our courts with frivolous cases designed to harass those who simply did their duty,” Ortega said in a statement.
He further urged Duterte to face the accusations head-on instead of resorting to legal theatrics. “We hope VP Duterte would just face all of the accusations in the impeachment, which she has been trying to avoid in Congress. But no amount of legal theatrics can erase the facts: There were serious and questionable transactions in the Vice President’s use of confidential funds and in the Department of Education under her watch.”
The Supreme Court became the battleground for Duterte’s second legal challenge against her impeachment after she filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition on 18 February. The petition, confirmed by Supreme Court spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting, was not discussed in the high court’s en banc session on the same day.
Duterte’s legal team, Fortun, Narvasa, and Salazar Law, justified the move, stating that the petition seeks judicial intervention to uphold due process and raises serious legal and constitutional concerns.
“The Vice President, for her part, trusts that the Supreme Court will exercise its constitutional duty to safeguard democratic principles and uphold the rule of law,” the law firm said in a statement.
A copy of the petition revealed that Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco were named as respondents.
In a separate but related legal maneuver, a group of lawyers backing Duterte filed another petition to dismiss the impeachment and prevent the Senate from moving forward with a trial. Lawyers Israelito Torreon and Martin Delgra III argued that the House of Representatives committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the articles of impeachment, citing a lack of proper evaluation and procedural defects.
Duterte is set to face trial in the Senate on charges that include violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. One of the most controversial allegations is an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., stemming from her remarks about ordering a man to kill Marcos should she be assassinated first. Duterte has maintained that her statement was taken out of context.
As legal battles rage on, the impeachment proceedings remain a pivotal moment in Duterte’s political career, with both sides gearing up for a contentious fight over allegations that could shape the country’s political landscape.