VP Sara leaves for Kuala Lumpur

MANILA, Philippines — On the eve of the start of her impeachment trial, Vice President Sara Duterte flew yesterday to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “on a personal trip with her family,” the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said in a statement.

In the same statement, the OVP said Duterte is also scheduled to attend the 127th Philippine Independence Day celebration tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur and meet with Filipino workers on the same day.

The statement did not give other details of her travel, including the exact time of her flight’s departure from Manila.

Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath Monday night as presiding officer of the impeachment court, setting into motion the trial of the Vice President, after hours of plenary debate.

The legal team of the Vice President said it is ready for the impeachment trial amid calls from various sectors that no more delays in the proceedings be allowed.

“Should the Senate choose to proceed, we stand ready to confront the charges and expose the baselessness of the accusations against the Vice President,” the defense team of Duterte said in a statement.

House of Representatives spokesperson Princess Abante said Duterte’s “personal trip” to Malaysia will not derail her impeachment trial, as she urged the Senate to just proceed with its constitutional duty to make the Vice President face trial.

Abante explained that there are rules for situations in which personal serving of the Articles of Impeachment cannot be made.

“I believe in the impeachment rules. It includes how to serve and notify the accused. The requirement there is personal service, but there are also rules on what to do if personal service cannot be made,” she said.

The defense team said it remains firm in its position that the initiation of the impeachment process suffers from serious constitutional infirmities.

Her lawyers added that the impeachment process must never be weaponized to harass, silence or eliminate political opponents.

Duterte said the defense team is also questioning the likely crossing over of her impeachment case to the 20th Congress.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives last Feb. 5, on charges of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes.

The charges stemmed from, among others, her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds – P500 million under the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million under the Department of Education (DepEd) – during her concurrent tenure as Vice President and Education secretary.

The impeachment complaint also cited her public admission of an alleged assassination plot against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; alleged bribery of DepEd officials; unexplained wealth, failure to submit her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and her supposed links to extrajudicial killings during her father’s administration.

As mandated by the 1987 Constitution, a conviction requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all members of the Senate, or 16 out of 24 senators.