MAD

OK, who started that naughty talk about the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte?

No one will admit it in the House of Representatives, where smoke usually indicates the presence of fire.

Knowing that impeachment is a game of numbers, the tiny genuine opposition bloc couldn’t have created the spark, although it was ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro who was first quoted by the media about it. She later clarified that the discussions were “informal” and an impeachment initiative at this point is “premature.”

 Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel confirmed last week that there were indeed such talks, which he said prompted the Makabayan bloc to discuss the prospects for its success.

 Despite the denials all around, the story had people scrambling to find out who takes over in case the vice presidency becomes vacant.

 Section 9, Article VII of the Constitution states: “Whenever there is a vacancy in the Office of the Vice President during the term for which he was elected, the President shall nominate a vice president from among the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, who shall assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.” 

In 2001, after EDSA Dos presented the presidency on a silver platter to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, she picked senator Teofisto Guingona as her VP.

 The constitutional provision has triggered speculation that some folks want VP Sara’s position, which is just a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Officially, the House leaders dismissed the story as “fake news.”

 But people likened the denial to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that he is not fomenting destabilization, even as he admits meeting with retired military and police officers. In the next breath, he issues a warning to “you who are conniving in Congress,” to “watch the military and the police closely.”

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The connivers apparently refer to Speaker Martin Romualdez and Castro, whom Duterte has tagged as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Duterte believes Romualdez has been wooing the support of different sectors including the left in preparation