Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said there will be no senator-judges left if the senators who are for or against her impeachment would be asked to inhibit themselves from the impeachment trial.
“The senator-judges will run out. There will be no judges left of the pro-Duterte senator-judges inhibit because I’’ call on the anti-Duterte senator-judges to inhibit also,” she said in a mixed English-Filipino during a press conference at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City’s SM Lanang.
“We cannot just inhibit people because there will be none left; they will run out if we do that, for us to inhibit based on biased opinion because there are only two groups there, pro or anti,” she pointed out.
The Vice President asserted that the impeachment was “politically motivated,” claiming that all senators were biased.
Duterte referred to Senator Risa Hontiveros whom she claimed has manifested “bias” against her and her family through public statements.
“We might as well ask to inhibit senators who are against me, such as Senator Risa Hontiveros who, in a public speech, sought to erase the Duterte name,” the Vice President said.
“The pros, they will defend us. The antis, their only goal is to destroy the Duterte family, so let’s not inhibit,” she added.
“Let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt. Let’s let them do their job,” she said.
Senate President Francis Escudero on Monday rejected calls for certain senator-judges to inhibit themselves from the impeachment trial, saying such demands come from biased groups.
“Any call or request from anyone who is biased, whether for or against the impeachment, whether for or against Vice President Sara, will not be heeded or entertained because they are clearly biased,” Escudero said.
“If there are calls for inhibition from those who support Vice President Sara and oppose impeachment, it is likely there will also be calls for inhibition from those who are against Vice President Sara and support the impeachment,” he added.
Escudero said groups like ACT Teachers, which signed the impeachment complaint, are clearly in favor of the proceedings against Duterte.
He noted that inhibition in impeachment trials is purely voluntary and left to the discretion of each senator-judge.
Escudero adverted to the 2012 impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, where a request for Senator Franklin Drilon’s inhibition was neither voted on nor considered by the court.
“With so many who are experts or claiming to be experts on the law these days, in the end, only one will truly prevail, the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court has not yet spoken, anyone is free to think for themselves about what is right or wrong, but once the Supreme Court decides, that is what we all must follow,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “VP Sara on inhibition calls: Let senator-judges do their job.”
