MALACAÑANG on Thursday, July 25, distanced itself from the plan of lawyer Lorenzo Gadon to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo if she is indicted for sedition and other criminal charges.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace respects the intent of Gadon, legal counsel of Peter Joemel Advincula, but would leave the matter to the House of Representatives.
Advincula is the man claiming to be Bikoy, the hooded figure in the "Ang Totoong Narco-List" videos that implicated the Duterte family in the narcotics trade.
"Bahala siya sa sarili niya. Sa kanyang diskarte 'yun. Hayaan mo siya (Let him do his thing. That's his strategy. Let him be)," Panelo said in a press conference.
"Every citizen has the right to do naything legal under the Constitution. But whether it will succeed or not, it will prosper or not is another thing," he added.
Robredo and other opposition figures are facing charges of sedition, inciting to sedition, cyberlibel, libel estafa, harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice over the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" videos.
Advincula, who first claimed that the presidential family is involved in narcotics trade, had recanted his allegation and confessed that he had to fabricate lies in favor of Robredo-led Liberal Party.
To recall, it was Gadon who filed an impeachment complaint against former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was removed from office through a quo warranto case filed by the Office of the Solicitor General.
Panelo said the executice branch would stay away from in Gadon's latest plan to unseat Robredo.
"Never naman kaming nangialam eh (We never interferes). Palace never interferes, intrudes in other branches," he said.
"Let Congress decide. Trabaho nila 'yun eh. Wala kami doon (That's their job. That's beyond our mandate). We will just watch in amusement. In other words, we will not interfere. Let them do their thing. If they want, they can do everything not illegal," Panelo added. (SunStar Philippines)