Sara Duterte’s camp says VP replacement talks ‘premature, a distraction’

MANILA — The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday said talks of her potential replacement were “premature” and a “distraction from the serious issues.” 

Duterte’s spokesperson Paolo Panelo made the statement after Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano urged senators to reject offers to be vice president should Duterte be convicted in her ongoing impeachment trial.

“Discussions on possible replacements for the Vice President are not only premature, they are a distraction from the serious issues hounding the impeachment,” Panelo said. 

He said these issues included the impeachment court’s fairness “when their members are facing or under threat of plunder and other criminal charges” and the “unconstitutionality of lowering the threshold for conviction and other due process violations including depriving the Vice President a fair opportunity to refute Articles I and IV.”

House prosecutors this month announced they were dropping the impeachment articles on alleged misuse of confidential funds, grave threats, and bribery — retaining only the allegation of unexplained wealth against Duterte.

Panelo said the withdrawal of the impeachment articles only drew a “conspicuous lack of outrage from the Senate majority over the wastage of time and public funds.” 

“These issues raise grave doubts as to whether a conviction by the Senate Impeachment Court, and any consequent attempt to install a replacement, would rest on any solid legal and moral foundation,” he said.

Panelo added that replacing the Vice President “will not solve the country’s most urgent crises” including the threat of Super El Niño on food security and the continued peso slump against the US dollar.

“The impeachment has only made clear how this administration and its allies prioritize political maneuvering over the issues that matter most to ordinary Filipinos: putting food on the table, keeping the economy afloat, and securing the nation’s future,” he said.

Impeachment trial presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero earlier said he would not accept if he would be offered to be vice president.

Meanwhile, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian urged an end to the discussion of picking a replacement for Duterte. 

The impeachment trial resumes November 9, with the defense panel expected to present evidence on unexplained wealth.