A lawmaker on Monday refuted former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s claim that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. would declare martial law to stay in power and ensure the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, calling it outright false and “fake news.”
“Yung pagdeklara ng martial law, fake news ulit. Hello, fake news, Mr. Fake News. Wag naman puro fake news na lang lumalabas sa bunganga nyo, palitan nyo naman,” House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union said.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also downplayed Duterte’s statement, saying the former president was entitled to his opinion but that the impeachment case against the Vice President was based on solid legal grounds.
“The former president is entitled to his own opinion. Lahat naman tayo may sariling interpretasyon sa lahat ng bagay. Of course, you cannot discount the fact that the Vice President is his daughter, so naturally, he will defend her and speculate on possible motives behind the impeachment,” Adiong said.
He emphasized that 215 lawmakers had found sufficient grounds to move forward with the case, demonstrating that the allegations were serious and not politically motivated.
“If you look at the merits of the case, 215 members of this House have agreed that the Vice President deserves a day in court,” he added.
Adiong clarified that the charges against Duterte stem from allegations of misuse of confidential funds and public threats against high-ranking officials, rather than political rivalry.
“Her cases are not about partisanship or party affiliation. These charges arise from violations of the joint circular on the use of confidential funds,” he said.
“One of the articles of impeachment also stems from public threats she made against the President, the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House, including threats to their lives,” he added.
He urged the public to focus on the real issues instead of being misled by political distractions.
“We should not divert attention from the real issues at hand. That is the focus of this impeachment,” he said.
Adiong also reiterated that electoral politics should not be mixed with constitutional accountability.
“Politics will play out in elections. There are ways to resolve political differences, but this is beyond politics. This is about holding public officials accountable for their actions,” he stressed.