00:00Once you're elected to an office, you are expected, not only by the constitution, by the people, to act in certain ways.
00:08You have to maintain and uphold the integrity of your office.
00:13And similarly, we expect our fellow public servants to do the same.
00:18In this impeachment case that was mentioned earlier by Boss Noy,
00:25that there are serious offenses, high crimes committed by the Vice President.
00:32So we cannot turn a blind eye and be more concerned about the possible backlash that it may cause us politically.
00:43Of course, that's a consideration. Who else wouldn't think of that?
00:48But this is already an issue of being a public servant.
00:53It's a secondary line to being a politician.
00:56It's a value judgment call, as he said.
01:00How will you face the people?
01:05You can say that it's prohibited to threaten people, much more so if you're a sitting president.
01:14How will you face yourself and say that there should be no corruption in the country?
01:20How will you face yourself and say that it's prohibited to bribe, like us, government officials?
01:28Because we just want to get the results we want.
01:33How will we face ourselves and our fellow citizens?
01:37How will you face yourself and your fellow citizens if a mandated agency gives and audits,
01:45and then the mandate is given by a constitutional agency,
01:50to take it and examine how the people spent it?
01:54How will we uphold that?
01:59How will we face that?
02:01I'm not speaking for the entire membership of the House.
02:04How will I face myself and my fellow citizens if I turn a blind eye
02:10and just simply concern myself with the possible popularity that I may get
02:18once I associate myself with who is popular and who has the tendency or the capacity to give me votes in the election?
02:27Isn't it good for a public service that for the three years being a congressman,
02:35you were elected to the office, you swore in the Constitution,
02:39in front of people and in front of God,
02:41that these ethics that should be followed by a public service,
02:52you will ignore them just because you are more concerned of the popularity that you may get or the votes that you may get?
03:01For me, how will I face myself and my fellow citizens if I turn a blind eye on these high crimes that were committed blatantly under the sun?
03:15So much blatantly that we cannot even ignore to a point that I can no longer turn a blind eye on these allegations
03:26and just simply brush it off simply because I am from Mindanao.
03:29I have a platform since its election and it's my duty to educate my voters,
03:35my citizens in my district to understand what the impeachment is about and what are the allegations all about.
03:42It's their duty to understand that there is a Constitution
03:46and there are limits to what elected officials can do and not do under the Constitution.
03:52So I will include that. Why is this happening?
03:55What should we do?
03:57And please understand that whenever you vote in every election,
04:01the officials who are sitting should serve according to our Constitution.
04:07They should remember that their position in the government is their debt to the people
04:11and it's not a cause for them to abuse their power when they are in government.
04:15There certainly will be consequences to every elected official.
04:22But if I did not sign this impeachment complaint and if I did not accept the election as prosecutor,
04:31coming from Iloilo, there will be far bigger and worse consequences
04:37if I turn my back on violations of the Constitution and I will not do my constitutional duty to prosecute it.
04:46That is a political question and we will see the results in the May 2025 elections.
04:52And that is the right, the sacred right of every Filipino people to decide who their representatives will be.
04:57But insofar as we are concerned with the constitutional duty to pursue this impeachment complaint,
05:02we will do our duty without fear or favor.
05:04Not to be decided by popularity, but to side with truth and justice.
05:15For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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