One YouTube channel and a Facebook page are claiming that the House of Representatives has dismissed the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte. This needs context.
While the first impeachment complaint filed by progressive leaders and endorsed by the Makabayan bloc has been “set aside” for violating the one-year bar rule, there are still two raps against Duterte, which the House Committee on Justice has declared sufficient in substance.
The YouTube video, uploaded on March 5, bore a title that reads:
“BUMALIKTAD LAHAT sa KAMARA sa MALAKING PASAB0G ni VPSARA! MPEACHMENT KUMPIRMAD0NG MABABASURA NA?
(Everyone in the House changed sides after VP Sara’s big bombshell. Is the impeachment now confirmed to be dismissed?)”
It also carried a text on its thumbnail that further alleges:
“KAMARA NABALIKTAD NA VPSARA NANUMPA NA! IMPEACHMENT BINASURA NA NA-SHOCKED MGA BUWAYA
(The House has now flipped! VP Sara has taken her oath! The impeachment has been dismissed, the ‘crocodiles’ are shocked.)”
The 18-minute video showed only portions of a vlog uploaded by Banat By on Feb. 28.
The political commentary of Banat By, a known supporter of the Dutertes, centered on allegations made by 18 “former Marines” who claimed they delivered suitcases and paper bags filled with cash to government officials. He linked these claims to the impeachment complaints against the vice president and the long-debunked narrative that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was “kidnapped” in connection with his case at the International Criminal Court.
Nowhere in the video did he mention anything about a dismissal of the impeachment complaints against the vice president.
A pro-Duterte FB page republished the claim on March 6 along with a link to a dubious, ad-filled “Trending News Portal” website with the domain name trendingpinaz.top, where the March 5 YouTube video was embedded.
The spurious posts emerged three days after the House dismissed the first impeachment rap filed on Feb. 2 against Duterte for violating the one-year bar rule on impeachment proceedings, which was to lapse on Feb. 6..
Two other impeachment complaints in the House were found to be sufficient in form and substance. Duterte has been directed to respond to them within a non-extendible period of 10 calendar days from receipt of notice. Her legal counsel, Michael Poa, said they received the notice on March 5.
First published by YouTube channel PHILIPPINES TRENDING NEWS (created Dec. 10, 2014), the misleading video has so far received 497 reactions, 27 comments and 10,966 views. The reposted copy by FB page Duterte Active Supporters (Nov. 14, 2017) had garnered 432 engagements as of writing.
