Manila Representative Joel Chua on Wednesday maintained that there is “nothing wrong” with the process of the House of Representatives regarding the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Wala pong mali. Lahat po ng nasa rules ay sinunod po namin,” Chua, the chairperson of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said.
(There is nothing wrong. We followed all the rules accordingly.)
Chua also said that they believe the impeachment trial should proceed.
“Sa ngayon kami ay naninindigan na ito ay nanda-dyan pa rin at tuloy pa rin. Mamaya po paguusapan namin kung ano po mga hakbang ang susunod na gagawin po namin,” he said.
(For now, we stand by the fact that it’s still there and it’s still ongoing. Later, we will discuss what steps we will take next.)
His remark came after the Senate’s decision to return the articles of impeachment back to the House of Representatives without dismissing or terminating them.
The Senate is seeking a certification from the House regarding the non violation of the one-year ban on impeachment complaints.
Eighteen senators voted for the return while five voted against it.
Chua, however, said that it should have been the defense that should have made the argument against the impeachment complaint.
“Alam po ninyo ang dapat nag kwe-question niyan defense, hindi po ‘yung senator-judge. Pangalawa meron po tayong tinatawag na presumption of regularity,” he said.
(You know, it should be the defense questioning that, not the senator-judge. Secondly, we have what we call the presumption of regularity.)
Those who voted yes include Senate President Chiz Escudero, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Sen. Robin Padilla, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sen. Mark Villar, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. JV Ejercito, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Lito Lapid, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
The negative votes came from Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Grace Poe, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, and Sen. Nancy Binay. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
