By Junex Doronio
MANILA – House leaders are leaving it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine Vice President Sara Duterte’s criminal liability over alleged death threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
This comes as the House of Representatives tackles an impeachment complaint based on the same allegations.
Bataan First District Rep. Geraldine Roman underscored the separation of powers, stating that Congress will focus on the impeachment process while the DOJ handles potential criminal charges.
“That is a totally separate and independent process, kanya-kanya tayo ng trabaho. Basta as far as we are concerned, we have a mandate to process this impeachment complaint,” Roman said.
The chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality stressed the importance of government agencies operating independently and transparently.
“We’re not the ones who are going to tell the Justice Department to do their work. But we should let our government agencies do their work freely, independently, with transparency, with honesty,” she added.
Assistant Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre explained the distinction between the impeachment process in Congress and the DOJ’s criminal investigation.
“Importante para sa mga tao na maunawaan ang pagkakaiba ng proseso ng DOJ at ‘yung ginagawa ho natin sa Kongreso,” said Acidre, who chairs the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs.
He elaborated, “Sa DOJ po ito’y separate na proseso ng ehekutibo, involving the criminal liability ng Vice President. Iba po ito sa impeachment process sa Mababang Kapulungan, which is a politically legislative procedure.”
ia/mnm
