Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers said on Thursday that he sees no issue with former president Rodrigo Duterte serving as one of his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte’s lawyers in her impeachment cases.
Vice President Duterte announced on Wednesday that her father had offered to act as one of her lawyers, serving as “a collaborating counsel for all cases”.
Barbers, also the chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, explained that anyone facing trial has the right to select their legal team.
“Karapatan naman ng kahit sinong humaharap sa isang trial, lalo na itong impeachment trial, ang pumili ng kanyang abogadong magdi-depensa sa kanya and that is guaranteed by not just the Constitution but the rules ng ating Kongreso,” he said in a TeleRadyo interview.
He reiterated the stance of Congress, emphasizing that there has been no discussion within the House of Representatives regarding impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.
“Hindi pa naman pinag-uusapan ang impeachment dahil hindi pa. Kahit sa amin sa Kongreso wala pang usapan tungkol diyan. So, I don’t know kung anong mga usapin tungkol diyan sa mga na-i-file sa Kongreso. Ang mangyayari pagbukas ng Kongreso, hindi ko alam iyan,” Barbers said.
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro called the move “a desperate attempt to rally political support.”
“Pagdating ng trial makikita naman doon talaga kung ano ‘yung magiging katotohonan,” she remarked.
The impeachment complaints have yet to be forwarded to the office of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Gabriela Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas suggested that the Duterte father-daughter duo should focus on the investigation being conducted by two Congressional committees instead of fixating on the complaints themselves.
Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel criticized the legal team-up. “This father-and-daughter legal team-up is nothing but political theater,” he said.