00:00Several lawmakers, Defendant House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and other House leaders against criminal charges
00:06filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday for the alleged falsification of public documents
00:12in violation of anti-graft and corrupt practices on the 2025 national budget.
00:18PTV's Mela Lismoras reports.
00:20If you ask me, this is just a clear diversion from the issues because if you think about it, they have been talking about the budget for a long time.
00:31Why did they think of filing cases now after the impeachment was transmitted to the Senate?
00:39So clearly there is an effort to downplay the move of the House to transmit the impeachment to the Senate
00:49and also divert the attention of our countrymen on the real issue that the other camp should answer.
00:59Here's what House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Asidre said after House Speaker Martin Romualdez
01:05and others were slapped with complaints for allegedly falsifying public documents and
01:09violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the 2025 national budget.
01:15Asidre asserted how the timing of the complaint filing was suspicious,
01:19seemingly intended to divert attention from the impeachment issue against Vice President Sara Duterte.
01:25The Young Guns Group shares the same view on the matter.
01:28According to House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega, the complaint allegedly has no basis,
01:34so the House leader should not be used as a scapegoat for the controversy being faced by the Vice President.
01:40House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Cong Hun, for his part, even called this move by the opposition
01:45a desperate move. Meanwhile, House Committee on Justice Vice Chair Jervie Loistro emphasized
01:50that while everyone has the freedom to file any complaint, the House leadership has always been
01:55prioritizing the welfare of the Filipino people in every bill or resolution they pass.
02:01Well, what I can say about the Speaker,
02:06what he is thinking is the welfare of the Filipino people. This is the freedom of everyone
02:15to resort to the legal remedies. But I just want to manifest to express that as a member of the
02:24majority bloc, that is Lakas CMD, which is the majority bloc in the House of Representatives,
02:32the 19th Congress of the Philippines. I can personally say that all the legislative actions
02:41of the 19th Congress through the leadership of the Speaker are anchored on uplifting the lives
02:46of Filipino citizens. For now, the House Prosecution Panel continues to prepare for
02:51the highly anticipated impeachment trial against the Vice President, although no final date has
02:56been set for its commencement. From PTV, Melales Moras, Balitang Pambansa.
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