Senator Risa Hontiveros likened the way the incumbent Senate leadership is deliberately delaying the progression of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case to a basketball being dribbled indefinitely, urging her colleagues to finally take the shot.
In a statement released Tuesday, Hontiveros reminded her colleagues that convening as an impeachment court and commencing trial is expressly mandated by the Constitution.
Hontiveros pointed out that this process “has been delayed and dragged on for four long months.”
“In those four months, I’ve been called eager, aggressive, impatient, ‘atat’ (in a rush). But the simple truth is this: We are not rushing. In fact, we have been waiting. The Filipino people are waiting. And we believe four months is more than enough,” she said.
The lawmaker said these delays are no longer procedural, but rather, they are “obstructions dressed up as protocol.”
Hontiveros said the impeachment process is a crucial means of demanding accountability exclusively entrusted by the people to the Senate and she will not turn her back on this responsibility.
“It’s time to follow the rules and start the process ‘forthwith’. Enough games. Time to move,” she concluded.
