Duterte has "super majority" allies in Congress, Palace says
President Rodrigo Duterte is not scared with impeachment because he has the "super majority" allies in Congress, Malacanang said on Firday.
In an interview with reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the moment an impeachment complaint is filed at the House of Representatives, it might immediately be dismissed by the House committee on justice.
"No definitely. How can a President be scared with impeachment? An impeachment is a number’s game, we have super majority in Congress," he said.
On Thursday night, Duterte apparently became furious against his critics who said that he could be impeached for not upholding the constitutional provision about protecting the country's exclusive economic zone by apparently allowing Chinese to fish in the Philippine EEZ.
He threatened to put in jail those who want him impeached.
Panelo said Duterte was "incensed because he cannot understand why these people who are against his policies cannot understand and even visualized that what he is doing is for the good of the country."
He said he talked to many House members and they understand what Duterte has been doing.
Panelo, also chief presidential legal counsel, said any impeachment complaint would be weak because Duterte did not commit any culpable violation of the Constitution.
"How can he even be violating? He’s even going beyond the provision. The provision says you protect the mineral, the maritime, what he's doing as he says it 'I'm not only protecting those, it's the whole country, because we cannot use those that you want to protect if we are all gone.' That's his point," he explained.
"The President is confident, because he knew that what he is doing is right and constitutionally feasible," he added. Celerina Monte/DMS
