(Eagle News) — Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Thursday filed a supplemental complaint to his original impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte, an act the chief presidential legal counsel described as mere “publicity and propaganda.”
In an interview with reporters during the filing at the House of Representatives, Alejano said the supplemental complaint stems from Duterte’s foreign policy as a whole.
The first impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed by Alejano on March 16 on five grounds: that the President supposedly culpably violated the Constitution, allegedly engaged in bribery, supposedly betrayed the public trust, allegedly committed graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
In a press conference after that filing, Alejano noted what he claimed were extrajudicial killings in the country, the killings in Davao when Duterte was mayor, and Duterte’s alleged bank accounts, which have transactions reportedly amounting to more than P2 billion.
The filing of the first impeachment complaint followed the circulation of a video where Vice President Leni Robredo is seen dishing out scathing criticisms of Duterte’s drug war.
The almost-six-minute video where Robredo described the war as leaving “people hopeless and helpless” was shown in a side-event to a main United Nations event in Vienna, Austria.
“Tignan ho natin ang Benham Rise, ang Panatag Shoal, and the foreign policy as a whole. It is a betrayal of public trust,” Alejano said in a press conference during the filing of the supplemental complaint.
Asked to elaborate, Alejano said Duterte had “reduced significantly our opportunity to claim our rightful claim to the West Philippine Sea, Panatag Shoal and Benham Rise,” noting, among others, that he had set aside a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that was favorable to the Philippines.
Alejano was referring to the July 2016 decision of the United Nations court that ruled that the Philippines had exclusive sovereign rights over the South China Sea.
The decision stemmed from a case filed by the Philippines with the court in January 2013.
The case was filed following a standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships at Scarborough Shoal in 2012.
The tribunal also ruled then that “there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash-line.'”
Alejano also insinuated that Duterte and China had a “special relationship,” and that China had a hand in the previous elections.
According to Alejano, other grounds for the filing of the supplemental complaint were Duterte’s supposed culpable violation of the Constitution, and his alleged engagement in other high crimes.
“It’s a dereliction of his sworn duty,” Alejano said.
“Ang sa atin naman po..hindi matutumbasan ng saging o pinya..ang ating sovereign rights,” Alejano noted.
“Only for publicity, propaganda”
But in an interview with CNN Philippines, chief presidential counsel Sal Panelo said Alejano’s act of filing was “only for publicity for him, being the complainant,” and “propaganda against the President.”
“It appears to be so (that there is an orchestrated effort to oust the President). Each one of those doing this propaganda thing…, they have their own agenda. But since there is a convergence of this attack against the President, there appears to be a conspiracy,” Panelo said.
He noted that the things that Alejano included in the supplemental affidavit, particularly his insinuation that China and Duterte had a “special relationship” and that the neighboring country had a hand in the previous elections in the Philippines, were “in the realm of speculation.”
He also said that the filing itself of the supplemental affidavit was invalid as it “may be considered” another impeachment complaint.
“Because there is a ban on filing a complaint within a year (after the filing of a first one),” he explained.
“Some…at Congress have already expressed that that complaint is not in accordance with law,” he added, noting that the grounds cited in the supplemental complaint had already been included in the first.
Panelo said the filing of the supplemental complaint was also “not affecting” the President nor the people.
In fact, he said Duterte had high approval ratings in surveys in the country, and was even leading Time’s online poll of who should be the 100 most influential people in the world.
Duterte has so far beaten the likes of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Beyonce, and National Basketball Association stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James, among others.
“They will try anything,” he said, referring to Duterte’s political enemies, but without giving names.