Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo (From PIA)
Malacañang on Monday brushed aside statements by an anti-corruption commissioner that Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo should be impeached for supporting the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution seeking a full report on the thousands of deaths in the war on drugs.
Asked for comment on the call of Manuelito Luna, commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, to impeach Robredo for putting the Duterte government in a bad light, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo answered with two rhetorical questions: “Is ignorance a betrayal of public trust? If gross ignorance is a ground for impeachment, is that a ground under the Constitution?”
Luna, a former lawyer of the pro-Duterte Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, claimed last week that Robredo’s support for the resolution made it appear that the government had committed human rights abuses, and was tantamount to betrayal of public trust.
Panelo, the chief presidential legal counsel, however said “there are many opinions are there are lawyers.”
“The impeachment court is the ultimate arbiter of that issue,” he said.
Pressed on whether the Palace would back moves to impeach Robredo, Panelo said: “There are better things to do.”
Robredo’s spokesman, Ibarra Gutierrez, said last week Luna was only trying to gain publicity.
“But if lawmakers think there is really basis to impeach [the vice president], then she is ready to face that because she knows she did nothing wrong,” he said during the “Biserbisyo” radio program. (PressONE.ph)