Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte on Monday raised questions over the role of a lawyer involved in both the impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and a separate disbarment case against election lawyer Glen Chong.
In a statement, Duterte pointed out that the lawyer who prepared the impeachment complaint endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Rep. Jett Nisay is the same lawyer representing a complainant identified as Liza in a disbarment complaint filed against Chong.
Duterte questioned whether the lawyer’s involvement in both cases could raise concerns about conflict of interest or overlapping political and legal roles, citing the timing and nature of the filings.
He also noted that under the Constitution, only one impeachment complaint may be filed against an impeachable official within a one-year period. Duterte said impeachment complaints that are dismissed effectively prevent the filing of another complaint within that timeframe, raising questions about their purpose.
The lawmaker further questioned what he described as the lack of progress in investigations into alleged corruption involving flood control projects. He cited claims of large public funds being spent despite continued flooding, and alleged that documents, names, and patterns have already been identified.
Duterte said that instead of investigations, what has been presented to the public are impeachment complaints, disbarment cases, and repeated press briefings, which he described as diversions from accountability.
He stressed that serious anti-corruption efforts should focus on cases with clear evidence and on issues involving public funds, rather than what he characterized as political drama.
