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

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp on Thursday dismissed discussions about her possible replacement as “premature” and called them a “distraction” from the “serious issues” surrounding her impeachment.

Duterte’s camp made the statement after several senators raised the issue, including Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who recently urged his colleagues to reject any offer from Malacañang to take over the country’s second-highest post should the vice president be convicted.

READ: Lacson to Duterte spox: Rectify ‘misleading’ impeachment cost estimate

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“Discussions on possible replacements for the Vice President are not only premature, they are a distraction from the serious issues hounding the impeachment,” Duterte’s spokesperson Atty. Paolo Panelo Jr. said in a statement.

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Panelo said these issues include the Senate Impeachment Court’s alleged lack of fairness and impartiality, the supposed unconstitutionality of lowering the threshold for conviction, and other due process violations such as the alleged denial of Duterte’s fair opportunity to refute Articles I and IV, as well as what he described as the Senate majority’s lack of outrage over the time and public funds purportedly wasted when the prosecution withdrew the two articles.

“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,” the lawyer claimed.

Panelo, in the same statement, also reiterated that replacing the vice president would not solve the country’s most urgent crises such as the soaring inflation, the worsening effects of the Super El Niño and the sharp slowdown in economic growth.

According to Panelo, the impeachment proceedings have only made it clear how the current administration prioritizes political maneuvering over issues “that matter most to ordinary Filipinos: putting food on the table, keeping the economy afloat, and securing the nation’s future.”

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READ: Palace says talks of Sara Duterte replacement ‘too premature’

Meanwhile, the Palace also earlier tagged discussions on who should replace Duterte “too premature.” /jpv