Protest held as VP Sara meets with supporters in HK

 

Protesters say Duterte should face her impeachment trial instead of traveling abroad

Militant migrant workers held a lightning rally outside the Philippine Consulate in Admiralty on Sunday to protest a visit by Vice President Sara Duterte, and call for her impeachment.

Speakers at the rally said not all migrant workers were happy to welcome Duterte to Hong Kong, and told her that she should stop spending public funds on her frequent trips abroad.

The protesters led by Bayan HK and Macau, also said Duterte should instead face the Senate impeachment court, where she is charged with unexplained wealth, failing to provide an accurate statement of her assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and prohibited business interests.

Basahin ang detalye!

While the protest was ongoing, Duterte was meeting with her supporters from the Filipino migrant community.

At a gathering attended by more than 100 people at an events venue in Kwun Tong, she thanked her supporters for giving her a warm welcome on her fourth meeting with them, with the first one being held when her father, Rodrigo R. Duterte, was still the country’s president.

“Next year, dapat mas malaki pero kailangan natin ng one-year preparation,” (Next year should be bigger, but we need to prepare for it a year in advance), she said, apparently alluding to a plan to hold another mass event in Hong Kong to kick-start her campaign for the presidency in 2028.

Duterte was in Hong Kong from Friday, Nov. 6 to Sunday, Nov. 8, which her office said was a private visit that was to be funded entirely out of pocket.

VP Sara tells her supporters they should prepare for a bigger gathering next year

Before leaving the country, she had to secure a travel authority from the Office of the President and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, where a case for grave threats against her is pending.

The charges relate to alleged threats she made during an online press briefing against President Ferdinand Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Alluding to the charge, Duterte told her supporters that Tagalog-speaking Filipinos do not seem to understand the sense of humor of those from the Visayan region.

In a statement, Dolores Balladares of Unifil-Migrante HK asked why Duterte chose to fly to  Hong Kong when she should instead be traveling to the Senate which is just nearby, to respond to the impeachment charges against her.

“Tigilan na niya ang kababyahe. Harapin niya ang kaso ng pagwawaldas ng pera ng bayan at ipaliwanag ang natuklasang undeclared assets at bilyong halaga ng mga bank transactions niya at kanyang asawa,” said Balladares.

(She should stop her travels. She should answer charges of plundering public funds and explain the undeclared assets and billions of pesos worth of bank transactions in her name and that of her husband).

A forensic expert told the Senate impeachment court that Duterte had undisclosed assets of between Php817 million and Php1.5 billion based on the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Duterte’s lawyers are due to start presenting her defense to the charges before the impeachment court today, Monday.