Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro – Photo courtesy of Congresswoman Atty. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro/Facebook.
The chair of the House committee on justice made a light remark on Wednesday about whether a fellow lawmaker wanted to be included as a respondent in a criminal complaint linked to the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro posed the question to Kabataan party list Representative Renee Co during the panel’s hearing.
The comment came after Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, filed complaints against several lawmakers and officials over alleged violations of financial and data privacy laws.
Among those named in the complaint were Luistro, Akbayan representatives Percival Cendaña and Jose Diokno, and Mamamayang Liberal representative Leila de Lima, along with central bank governor Eli Remolona Jr. and Anti Money Laundering Council executive director Ronel Buenaventura.
The case stemmed from disclosures made during an April 22 hearing, where financial reports involving Carpio’s transactions over several years were presented before the committee.
During the proceedings, Co was recognized to deliver a manifestation expressing her support for the panel’s actions.
Luistro then asked whether Co was among those named in the complaint, and followed up with a joking remark on whether she wanted to be included.
Co said she was not a respondent but expressed support for the committee and raised concerns over recent developments related to the issue.
Later in the hearing, Manila Representative Joel Chua also voiced support for the lawmakers named in the complaint, with the panel adopting his statement as a shared position of the committee.