Bacolod Lone District Representative and House Deputy Speaker Albee Benitez has refuted allegations from Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte that lawmakers are being coerced or bribed to support the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a televised interview, Benitez maintained that the House Committee on Justice reached its decision to find probable cause based exclusively on the merits of the evidence, which included sworn affidavits and bank records allegedly documenting questionable financial activities.
“Wala akong naririnig na ganyan. Walang mga pinag-usapan na ganyan,” Benitez stated. “Purely on presentation ng evidence, ng mga affidavit at yung mga bank records, transactions na nakita namin.”
The Bacolod lawmaker categorically denied claims that House members were offered additional district allocations or threatened with budget cuts to secure their votes against the Vice President.
These accusations were earlier leveled by Paolo Duterte, who claimed that House leadership—including Majority Leader Sandro Marcos—was using public funds as political leverage.
Benitez dismissed the plausibility of such claims, citing the current state of national finances.
“Ang national government ngayon is underspending. Hindi natin alam kung saan nanggagaling yan na may karagdagan o may additional na pamimigay o i-aalok na budget sa mga members,” he explained.
According to Benitez, the narrative of “budget-for-votes” is a calculated attempt to distract the public from the serious allegations of corruption and unexplained wealth currently facing the Vice President.
He suggested that these claims are intended to cast doubt on the integrity of the justice panel’s findings as the case moves toward a plenary vote.
“Gusto nila ilihis yung tunay na reason kung bakit bumoto ‘yung mga justice (panel) members,” Benitez added.
The House Committee on Justice is expected to finalize its report on May 4, with the plenary vote anticipated shortly thereafter.