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‘House leaders cool to VP impeachment’

MANILA, Philippines — Several leaders of the House of Representatives are not inclined to tackle the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte before the May elections.

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News yesterday, Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante said several leaders he had talked to were “more amendable” to his position against tackling the complaints before the elections or before the end of the current Congress.

He said House leaders discussed the issue yesterday.

“I don’t think we should even tackle the impeachment complaints now. The fact that the election is quite near… It’s better if we defer the impeachment complaint and file it in the new Congress,” he said.

“We’re in a quandary as to what the leadership will do about that… They’re quite cold about the impeachment complaints,” he said, referring to some members he had spoken with on the matter.

Three impeachment complaints have been filed against Duterte over her alleged anomalous use of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under her leadership.

Abante also said the House quad committee will push through with its investigation on the alleged irregularities in some of the programs of the previous Duterte administration.

“It is not over. We still have a lot to do. Particularly, the next quad comm hearing, we might tackle the POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) issue,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Abante, one of the co-chairs of the quad comm, said they plan to invite banks and the Anti-Money Laundering Council as part of their investigation on the money trail involving POGOs.

The bank secrecy law, he said, is not absolute and that details of the bank transactions may be revealed if there is proof that there is a violation of the law.

As uncertainties remain over the direction of the impeachment complaints against Duterte, a party-list lawmaker called on the Iglesia ni Cristo religious sect led by the Manalo family to stop shielding Duterte from allegations of massive corruption.

“No rally can ever delete the truth that government officials are accountable to the people. The Filipino people who

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