LP congressmen ready to defend Robredo amid ‘fictitious’ sedition charge

Liberal Party lawmakers at the House of Representatives circled the wagons around embattled Vice President Leni Robredo, declaring readiness to defend her against "fictitious" allegations used to file a sedition complaint against her and other opposition personalities.

In a statement Friday night, they vowed to "stand solidly behind" Robredo and "defend" her.

Robredo is the chairperson of the Liberal Party (LP), which has 18 members at the House out of the more than 200 congressmen.

"The consensus among our ranks is clear: The attacks and harassment against the Vice President is a red line for every member of the Party. Malinaw at unanimous ang paniniwala namin dito: The Vice President is our leader; the allegations are fictitious; this was initiated by a few misguided sycophants who would rather destabilize the republic than work to uplift the lives of our people," they said.

"Lahat po kami, sanay na sa panggigipit; ngunit lahat din kami, bukas makipagtrabaho sa kahit kanino kung ang magbebenepisyo ay ang taumbayan. Hindi magbebenipisyo ang taumbayan sa pagsusulong ng gawa-gawang mga kaso laban kay Bise Leni," the LP solons added.

On Thursday, July 18, the Philippine National Police filed a sedition complaint against Robredo, several senators and opposition figures in connection with videos annotated by a certain Bikoy, who earlier linked members of the Duterte family to illegal drugs.

The other personalities included in the complaint were Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros, former senators Paolo Benigno Aquino and Antonio Trillanes IV, members of the Otso Diretso senatorial slate except Mar Roxas, and several others.

The LP congressmen said that in the 18th Congress, they would continue to uphold the values and principles of the party despite being a minority in the chamber.

"Regardless of the context here in the House of Representatives, we will stand by our values and principles. We will stand firm behind the truth. This is one of those moments. We will defend the Vice President," they said.

The Vice President, along with President, members of the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office via impeachment, according to Section 2, Article XI of the Constitution. —LDF, GMA News