MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday distanced himself from a potential impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo for voicing her concerns over the government war on drugs before the United Nations.
Asked at a press conference in Davao City before he left for an official visit to Myanmar whether he had a hand in the move, Duterte responded: "Never did anything and I will not do anything about it."
Towards the end of this week, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said he is considering filing an impeachment complaint after linking Robredo in an early morning television program to the impeachment complaint that Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano filed against Duterte on Thursday.
Alvarez said Robredo's video message to the UN may constitute betrayal of public trust, one of the grounds for impeachment.
Solicitor General Jose Calida, whose primary task is to represent the government in legal cases, has also offered his office's service if an impeachment complaint is filed against the vice president. Calida, who is not a prosecutor, said Robredo "will reap the people's wrath and contempt for her treasonous act" of talking to the United Nations about possible human rights violations in the Philippines.
"I never lifted a finger against anybody. Tapos na ako diyan. I'm beyond politics. I do not want to tinker with it. I just want to focus on my job as... which you have given me," the president said Sunday.
LP: No basis to say Robredo part of any destabilization plot
On Saturday, the Liberal Party defended Robredo from accusations that she is part of a supposed plot to bring the Duterte administration down.
In a statement, the de facto opposition party said rumors of destabilization plots are “baseless, orchestrated, and lies that only harm the country.” The LP, decimated since before the May 2016 elections, has repeatedly denied being part of any plots.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, LP president, pointed out that Duterte himself last week cleared Robredo from such “plots”, saying the vice president had nothing to do with what he called “destabilization efforts” against him.
“Makinig sana ang mga ka-alyado ni pangulo sa kanya at huwag nang maghasik ng kasinungalingan dahil hinahawahan nila ang buong bayan imbes na pinagbubuklod tayo,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan said that the publication of the "NagaLeaks" — an anonymous blog alleging the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo of links to drugs and illegal gambling — and accusations of destabilization appear to be part of “an orchestrated effort to spread lies.”
He likened these issues to what detained Sen. Leila De Lima experience before she was charged.
“Ganito rin ang ginawa nila kay Leila: sinisiraan ng mga paratang na walang basehan sa katotohanan,” Pangilinan said.
'Leni not behind impeachment complaint vs Duterte'
Quezon City Rep. Kit Belmonte, LP secretary-general, said Robredo will not be part of any destabilization efforts. The vice president has said in the past that she is not in favor of any moves to destabilize the government.
“Hinalal siya para maglingkod sa mga Pilipino, at gagampanan niya ang kanyang sinumpaang tungkulin hanggang sa huling araw ng kanyang anim na taong termino,” Belmonte said.
The LP leaders were reacting to statements made by Duterte allies in response to her video message to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
Belmonte defended Robredo saying her message only narrated true stories of people who have approached her to seek help regarding their experience on the government’s war on drugs.
Speaker Alvarez has alleged Robredo is behind Alejano's impeachment complaint against the president.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte's failed vice presidential candidate and former LP ally, also linked the Liberal Party to the impeachment complaint, saying it was part of a “coordinated” effort since it was filed after Robredo’s video was released.
Drug Reform Coordination Network, the international NGO that organized the UN event where Robredo’s video was shown, clarified that the forum was set months earlier. It added that the vice president did not have anything to do with the schedule.
"As the organizer of the event at the UN, I can attest that the date of our forum was scheduled months ago by UN staff, and the vice president's office did not make any requests of us as to timing or any other matters. We released it a few days before the session as a media strategy to draw attention to President Duterte's atrocities,” said Drug Reform Coordination Network executive director David Borden.
Magdalo Rep. Alejano has already said the impeachment complaint was his initiative.
On Sunday, Duterte said he does not care about the impeachment and does not care if Robredo is behind it.
“I will not be surprised if she is there (impeachment), or I will not also speculate that she is not there, kasi hindi ako nakikialam sa buhay niya. Sana ‘wag niya pakialaman ‘yung akin but sa trabaho okay lang. Wala sakin yang impeachment impeachment, I go by the rules of destiny,” Duterte said in a speech before his flight to Myanmar.