House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said she “smells fear” from impeachment respondent Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
De Lima made the remark after learning of Carpio’s plan to sue her, fellow lawmakers Akbayan Party-list Reps. Chel Diokno and Perci Cendaña, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) officials on Monday, April 27, over the disclosure of the couple’s bank records during House impeachment hearings.
Also charged was Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, chairperson of the justice panel.
“Sa ginagawa nila ngayon, halatang-halata na nababahag ang buntot nila na sagutin ang mga alegasyon, at gusto na lang pagtakpan o ilihis lagi ang isyu. Hindi pwedeng gawing panangga lang ang korte sa kaduwagan nila,” De Lima said on Sunday, April 26.
Carpio filed criminal charges on Monday morning, citing disclosure of bank accounts and violation of privacy.
“Karapatan po nila yan, tulad ng ginawa nilang pagdulog sa Korte Suprema at Quezon City Regional Trial Court para pigilan na naman o ilihis ang isyu sa ginagawang pagdinig sa impeachment complaints laban kay VP Sara,” De Lima added.
The former senator, who endorsed one of the two active impeachment complaints against Duterte, said she will wait for the official copy of the complaint before consulting her lawyers.
De Lima argued that exposing evidence of ill-gotten wealth during impeachment proceedings is not criminal, but rather “a direct consequence of impeachment as an accountability mechanism.”
“At kung iniisip nila na sa pagsasampa ng kaso laban sa atin ay masisindak nila tayo, o na magdadalawang-isip o titigil tayo sa paghahanap ng katotohanan at pananagutan sa mabibigat na alegasyon laban kay VP Sara, imposibleng mangyari yan,” she stressed. (Ellson Quismorio)
