MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio is prepared to answer questions surrounding the controversial name “Mary Grace Piattos” and the alleged misuse of confidential funds — but only if impeachment complaints against her reach the Senate for trial, according to her defense team.
Atty. Michael Poa, spokesman of Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment lawyers, said the Vice President has long been willing to discuss confidential transactions of both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education, but only in a venue that allows sensitive information to be protected.
“Siguro ang appropriate forum ‘yung impeachment kung talagang maglabasan ‘yung mga confidential activities,” Poa said in an interview with DZMM on Tuesday.
He explained that the public disclosure of such matters could place ongoing operations at risk, which is why the defense believes a formal impeachment trial is the only proper setting for these details to be revealed.
“Dito sa impeachment, kung ito man ang tamang venue, siguro mailalahad na natin kung ano and we have been preparing for that naman. Siyempre gusto nating sagutin. Dun natin mapapatunayan na walang basehan ang batikos na katiwalian,” he said.
The defense team has been preparing for a possible Senate trial since last year, after several impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte-Carpio.
One of the accusations involves the alleged misuse and malversation of confidential funds from both the OVP and DepEd, including claims that P125 million was spent in just 11 days in 2022.
Lawmakers earlier questioned the identity of “Mary Grace Piattos,” listed as one of the alleged recipients of confidential funds. The Philippine Statistics Authority later confirmed that no such person exists in its records. Duterte-Carpio’s camp has previously suggested that the name could be a pseudonym.
While the Supreme Court struck down the earlier impeachment cases for violating the constitutional one-year bar, new complaints were refiled on Monday by Makabayan lawmakers Antonio Tinio, Renee Co, and Sarah Elago, along with former lawmakers France Castro and Neri Colmenares. Another complaint was also lodged by leaders of Tindig Pilipinas, endorsed by party-list Representatives Leila de Lima and Perci Cendaña.
Poa said Duterte-Carpio was not caught off guard by the renewed impeachment efforts, adding that she had anticipated repeated attempts until the end of her term.
Asked about the Vice President’s reaction, he said: “Halos on a daily basis magkausap naman kami. She is very hands-on on this. Was she cool about this? To be honest, hindi na sorpresa sa kanya. Siya nga ang nagsabi sa amin noon, alam niyo i-expect niyo na ‘yan.”
He added that Duterte had already warned her legal team of recurring complaints.
“‘Kung makalampas man tayo this year, next year meron ulit ‘yan. Kumbaga na-prepare na niya ‘yung defense team,” he recalled.
According to Poa, Duterte remains eager to confront the allegations.
“She was raring to go and she was saying ‘Sagutin na ‘yan’. Sa ngayon, I don’t think anything has changed. She is ready to face it,” he said.
Poa also rejected claims that the Supreme Court exceeded its authority when it ruled that a legislative session day is equivalent to a calendar day for impeachment purposes.
“Sa pananaw namin, walang judicial overreach…Hindi sila nakialam sa allegations if there is basis. It was really more on the process kung mayroon ika nga grave abuse of discretion sa pag initiate ng impeachment, which is really provided for by the Constitution Article 8, Section 1,” he said.
He stressed that the ruling focused only on procedure and not on the merits of the accusations.
“Yung proseso lang po ang tiningnan dito, hindi ‘yung kung may kasalanan ba o wala…Na-clarify ‘yung dapat mong gawin in accordance with the Constitution. Sa tingin ko, walang masyadong nabago,” he said.
“If we want someone impeached, dapat mabilis, hindi na dapat patagalin,” he added./PN
