By Azer Parrocha/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang on Monday said it had better things to do than pursue an impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo for supporting the United Nations (UN) resolution seeking to look into the country’s human rights violations.
“But you know, we have better things to do. There are so many problems in this country. I will leave it to those who would want to initiate whatever they want to initiate against whomsoever,” Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Earlier, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner lawyer Manuelito Luna said Robredo could be impeached for endorsing the UN resolution describing it as a betrayal of public trust.
Instead of directly answering whether the Palace supported Luna’s statement, Panelo raised the question of whether Robredo’s “ignorance” is a betrayal of public trust.
“Is ignorance a betrayal of the public trust? That is my response. If gross ignorance is the ground for impeachment; is that a ground under the Constitution?” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo also noted that Palace will allow the advocates of Robredo’s impeachment to do what they wanted.
“Draw your conclusion. That is my response. But I will let the advocate pursue that line,” Panelo said.
“There are as many opinions as there are lawyers. The impeachment court will be the ultimate decider of that legal issue,” he added.
Luna said although he has no intention of filing an impeachment complaint against Robredo, it should serve as a warning for her to “temper” her statements.
Robredo reportedly said the government should welcome the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking to investigate human rights violations in the Philippines in relation to the administration’s drug war.
Out of the UN body’s 47 members, 18 countries supported Iceland’s proposal, 14 countries including the Philippines voted against it, while the remaining 15 abstained.
For the latest updates about this story, visit the Philippine News Agency website
