• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
More members of the House of Representatives, including Negros Occidental 5th district Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo, have signed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, Abang Lingkod partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano disclosed on Thursday.
Paduano yesterday said that Yulo signed the impeachment complaint after the House of Representatives adjourned its session on February 5.
He raised the possibility that the name of Yulo was not included on the official list of 215 signatories, when the impeachment complaint was endorsed to the Senate.
We are still counting those who want to sign the complaint, Paduano added.
The confirmation of Paduano indicates that all the solons of Negros Island and Siqujior who pushed for the revival of the Negros Island Region, which was abolished by then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte after he assumed office in 2016, are signatories to the impeachment complaint. Rodrigo is the father of Sara Duterte.
Those who signed the impeachment resolution include Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya, Rep. Gerardo Valmayor (1st district, Negros Occ.), Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (2nd district, Negros Occ.), Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer (4th district, Negros Occ.), Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (6th district, Negros Occ.);
Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong (1st district, Negros Oriental), Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria (2nd district, Negros Oriental), and Rep. Zaldy Villa (Lone District of Siquijor).
Other NIR signatories are Abang Lingkod party list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, who is also the caretaker of Negros Occidental 3rd district, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, also served the caretaker of Negros Oriental 3rd district.
Paduano was designated as caretaker of the Negros Occidental 3rd district, following the designation of former Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez as director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in August last year.
Romualdez, who also serves as Leyte’s 1st District congressman, is also serving as the caretaker of Negros Oriental’s 3rd District, which was left vacant in August 2023, after the expulsion of Arnolfo Teves Jr., who was implicated in the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, two years ago.
All the solons of Negros and Siquijor, who voted for the impeachment of Vice President Duterte, co-sponsored the bill creating the Negros Island Region which was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year.
NIR was initially created through an executive order issued by the late President Benigno Aquino III in 2015. Two years later, it was abolished by his successor, the elder Duterte.
Senate President Francis Escudero disclosed on Thursday that Duterte’s impeachment trial would not start until the Senate resumes session in June.
During the Kapihan sa Senado forum Thursday, Escudero explained that an impeachment can only be convened in a plenary session, citing Senate rules that state “the Senate President shall take proper order of the subject of impeachment.”
The House of Representatives will respect the Senate’s decision on when to convene as an impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a lawmaker said Thursday.
“We will respect the institution of the Senate, how they will interpret ‘forthwith,’ gaano kaaga nila aktuhan ito (how soon they will act on this), we will respect that,” Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor said in a press conference.
“Pero sana matuloy lang ang paglilitis na ito (But hopefully, this trial proceeds) because this is the perfect opportunity for all parties, especially the Vice President,” he added.
One of the designated prosecutors in Duterte’s impeachment trial, Defensor said the impeachment process is sui generis, or a “class of its own,” making it distinct from the regular legislative process.* with PNA reports
