Vice President Sara Duterte has accused House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro of being at the center of the impeachment talks against her.
In the third part of the recorded video interview shared by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to members of the media on Wednesday, Duterte reiterated that she is no longer surprised of the impeachment rumors as it is supposedly being “openly” discussed at the House of Representatives.
“Kung babalik tayo noong nakaraang taon ay nagsalita na si France Castro noong November 2023, nagsabi na siya, ‘Ay, pinag-uusapan namin ang impeachment ni Inday Sara.’ At nagbigay siya ng mga basehan doon sa ipa-file daw nila na impeachment. Kaya tuloy-tuloy lang ‘yan na pinag-uusapan openly, diyan sa House of Representatives, ang impeachment,” she said.
(In November 2023, France Castro was already talking about my impeachment. She gave grounds for the impeachment complaint they are supposed to file. The impeachment is constantly being discussed openly in the House of Representatives.)
“At lagi nandiyan sa gitna si France Castro sa usaping impeachment sa akin,” she added.
(And France Castro is always there at the center of the impeachment talks against me.)
GMA News Online sought for the comment of Castro regarding the allegation, and will update this story once she responds.
In August, Castro said Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds worth P73 million in 2022 was grounds for impeachment.
According to Castro, Duterte “broke the law” and the Commission on Audit’s (COA) findings on the OVP’s confidential funds showed “a clear betrayal of public trust.”
“COA’s findings reveal a glaring misuse of public funds. It is becoming apparent that Duterte was banking on the supposed veil of secrecy around Confidential Funds to hide her unlawful use of people’s money,” Castro said.
“Hindi naman puwedeng gagawa ng kalokohan tapos pababayaan na lang, dapat may accountability (She cannot misuse the funds and get away with it. There should be accountability). Her misuse of confidential funds is an impeachable offense,” Castro added.
Duterte has repeatedly said that there was no misuse of the confidential funds, and even of the funds of the Department of Education (DepEd), which she previously served as secretary.
“Kaya ngayon, pinipilit nilang gawan ng basehan ‘yung mga sinasabi nila na impeachment sa akin. Kaya hindi bago ‘yan na pinaguusapan ang impeachment. Kasama ‘yan sa plano nila laban sa akin,” the Vice President said in the latest video.
(Now, they are trying to make a basis for the impeachment against me. It’s not new to me. That is a part of their plan against me.)
Duterte had said that impeachment efforts orchestrated by House members against her were documented. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
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