Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday, March 13, criticized Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno’s move to subpoena documents and records from her office, calling it yet another “fishing expedition” by House members pursuing an impeachment complaint against her.
Duterte reiterated that lawmakers lack sufficient evidence to justify the case, saying the House committee’s finding that the complaint is “sufficient in substance” should presuppose that allegations are backed by proof.
She stressed that the committee cannot conduct investigations merely to search for evidence to support accusations already made in the impeachment complaints.
“Doing so would amount to a third ‘fishing expedition’ by the House of Representatives,” Duterte said, noting that earlier hearings supposedly “in aid of legislation” were also attempts to gather evidence against her.
“The first was the budget hearing in 2024, remembered for the now infamous line, ‘Let’s stick to our plan.’ The second were the hearings conducted by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which many will recall for the so-called ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ attack,” she claimed.
“Now we are witnessing yet another desperate attempt to search for evidence where none exists,” Duterte said.
The Vice President maintained that her impeachment case is a political attack that is supposedly designed “to protect certain individuals and advance personal and foreign interests.”
And while the world scrambles to help its citizens affected by the ongoing Middle East conflict, Duterte claimed, “the Philippine House of Representatives and the Office of the President remain preoccupied with a political nemesis who refuses to kowtow to their corrupt ways.”
“This is another insult. This time, it is directed at our OFWs, the poor, and the many Filipino families who may soon be pushed deeper into hardship as a result of war and its global consequences,” she said. (Joseph Pedrajas)
