- FPRRD volunteers as collaborative counsel in VP Sara’s legal cases
FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte will dust off his resume as he joins the legal team of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, in the impeachment complaints against her.
In an interview on the sidelines of the annual gift-giving activity outside the family’s ancestral home in Central Park, the former education secretary said her father made the offer after she declined his initial proposal to fund her legal defense.
“He said that since I wouldn’t accept the money, he would act as my lawyer. So, he will be a collaborating counsel for all the cases,” the vice president said in Filipino.
President Duterte has not practiced his profession since he was the second assistant city prosecutor in 1986 before being appointed the OIC vice mayor by President Corazon Aquino when the late strongman was toppled in a people’s revolution.
The vice president joined her father on stage during a brief program on Dec. 25, much to the delight of the crowd, estimated to reach more than 50,000 at its peak.
The vice president also anticipated possible criminal charges related to grave threats and alleged violations of the Anti-Terrorism Law.
“He’ll be one of the lawyers handling all the cases, and he is currently preparing his documents for submission to the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines),” she said.
Three impeachment complaints have been filed against the Vice President, with the first two submitted just days apart earlier this month.
The first complaint cited 24 Articles of Impeachment, alleging violations of the 1987 Constitution, dating back to when Duterte was mayor of Davao City in 2007 and continuing through her tenure as Vice President and Secretary of the Department of Education.
The second complaint, filed by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, accuses Duterte of misusing confidential funds and betraying public trust by refusing to cooperate with Congress during its inquiries.
The third impeachment complaint, filed last week by Catholic priests and lawyers, cites her alleged misuse of hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, including during her time as Education Secretary.
“We made an inventory of cases based on media reports, interviews with government agencies, and input from the House of Representatives, Department of Justice, NBI, and PNP. For each case, we’ve assigned a lawyer to handle it,” the vice president said.
While she remains confident in her defense, stating that she “did not break any laws,” Duterte expressed uncertainty about the political implications of her legal challenges.
“But as we can see now, there’s no rule of law. So, if there are cases, we will still face them,” she added.
Under Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the President, vice president, justices of the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman can be removed from office through impeachment if convicted of culpable violations of the Constitution, treason, bribery, or other high crimes.
