Impeachment complaint vs Robredo? Alvarez conditioning mind of public

MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday, March 17, said it was “utterly irresponsible” for House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to say in public he is considering filing an impeachment complaint against her.

“He is making such public statements without sufficient basis and it is purely speculation, really,” Georgina Hernandez, spokesperson of the Vice President, said in an ANC interview Friday.

She added: “What he is trying to share to the public is quite irresponsible for a public servant of his stature especially. So we really think that such statements should not be taken seriously and these are really just empty threats and trying to mind-condition the public.”

Aside from conditioning the mind of the public, Hernandez also said Alvarez is “trying to bring the credibility of the Vice President down” with his recent statement on a possible impeachment complaint against Robredo.

February video on EJKs

Alvarez also on Friday tagged Robredo as “definitely” behind the first impeachment complaint filed against President Rodrigo Duterte, citing as basis the Vice President’s video message to a United Nations meeting on extrajudicial killings.

Malacañang also linked Robredo to the impeachment complaint, saying it’s more than coincidence that the video was released around the same time as the filing of the complaint. 

Hernandez had earlier said Robredo only stated facts in the video and did not humiliate the country before the international community.

In the ANC interview, the spokesperson gave more details about the timing of the video.

“The request for message from the Vice President was made by the organizers of the United Nations last February, around the 2nd week of February, and before the end of the month, before the end of February, we were able to send the said video message to the organizers.”

She said the posting and sharing of the video online “depended solely on the schedule of the conference.”

“We really see here based on purely facts and timelines, that there is no such coordination as to the filing of the impeachment case and the releasing of the video,” Hernandez said. – Rappler.com