House prosecution spokesperson and adviser Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday said Vice President Sara Duterte‘s more than 32 million votes in the 2022 elections do not exempt her from accountability under the Constitution.
Barbers made the remarks after Duterte’s defense highlighted her electoral mandate during its opening statement before the Senate impeachment court.
“Thirty-two million votes are not a license to commit violations of the law, especially if you are a public official,” Barbers said.
He said the Constitution provides for impeachment to hold impeachable officials accountable regardless of their popularity or the number of votes they received.
“Does that mean because you’re the most powerful person in government and because you were able to get a certain number of votes, you have a license to commit all these violations? I don’t think that was the intention of those who drafted the Constitution,” he said.
Barbers added that impeachment exists to protect the public from abuses or violations committed by high-ranking government officials.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio echoed the prosecution’s position, saying Duterte’s electoral mandate does not place her beyond accountability.
“Popularity does not equal impunity. Despite her electoral mandate, the Vice President must be held accountable,” Tinio said.
Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro also rejected the defense’s allegation that the House conducted a “fishing expedition” during its impeachment proceedings.
“The House of Representatives never engaged in a fishing expedition. Everything that we did was in accordance with the Constitution, the impeachment rules and existing jurisprudence,” Luistro said.
She maintained that the House strictly complied with all legal and constitutional requirements in initiating the impeachment case against Duterte.
