A member of the House of Representatives said on Thursday that they were not aware of the principal author or endorser of the fourth impeachment complaint they signed to submit to the Senate.
On Wednesday, a significant number of Congress members expressed support for impeaching Vice President Sara Duterte. A total of 215 members out of 306 voted in favor of the latest complaint against the vice president.
This vote exceeded twice the amount needed for the complaint to be transmitted to the Senate. The required number of signatures was 102.
“Well, hindi ko po masasabi sino pasimuno. Hindi ko rin po alam kasi what happened po. Ito naman po talaga matagal nang pinag-uusapan at pinag-aaralan itong fourth impeachment complaint but it just so happened na kahapon nagkaroon ng caucus ang party members ng Lakas [CMD],” Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said in ANC’s “Headstart”.
It was known that, for the longest time, only three complaints had been filed, and the House secretary general said they were awaiting the fourth impeachment complaint before it was raised to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s office.
The fourth complaint gained immediate support, as the allegations it contained had already been discussed.
“Karamihan dito halos alam na rin namin dahil dumaan na rin ito sa [amin]… Right there and then nakita naman po namin may basis,” Chua said.
However, a former PBBM administration official expressed surprise, saying they were blindsided by how quickly the newest complaint moved through Congress.
“How come that there are 200 members of Congress na nag-sign sa impeachment ni Vice President Sara na hindi man lang na-hearing si VP Sara. They don’t know the details of the case,” Duterte Youth Party-list chairman Ronald Cardema told ANC.
“Ang masabi ko lang po, ang kakapal naman ng mukha natin sa Kongreso… Lahat kayo lumalapit para magpa-picture [sa kanya], kaya ninyong pirmahan ang impeachment,” he added.