Akbayan Party-list President Rafaela David criticized Vice President Sara Duterte’s response to the impeachment complaint filed against her, saying the Vice President failed to directly address the allegations and instead lashed out at the group and its chair emeritus, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros.
“For something she insists has no merit, it rattled her enough to release a video message, not to answer the serious charges, but to desperately attack us and our chair emeritus, Senator Risa Hontiveros,” David said.
Earlier, Duterte claimed that the impeachment complaint endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima was politically motivated, alleging that Hontiveros was positioning herself for a 2028 presidential bid.
She also maintained that the complaint had “no evidence attached.”
David dismissed Duterte’s remarks and questioned her consistency.
“Sabi ni Vice President Sara Duterte, walang batayan ang impeachment complaint na inendorso ng Akbayan party. Funny… She even called the complaint ‘harassment.’ How can something she insists is baseless harass her? Ano ba talaga, ate? Her video doesn’t project confidence, it reeks of fear, poorly disguised as bravado,” she said.
David also pointed to a separate impeachment complaint filed on February 2 by civil society leaders led by Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino-Dee, which accuses Duterte of constitutional violations, graft, and betrayal of public trust.
She warned that the mounting complaints could define the Vice President’s political legacy.
“Tama na ang palusot, Sara. Prepare to go down in history as the first vice president to be impeached, not once, but twice,” David declared.
Both impeachment complaints have since been transmitted to the Office of the House Speaker for consideration.