Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan refuted the claim circulating on social media that the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte was a regional rivalry between Luzon and Mindanao in a Tuesday press conference.

Suan emphasized that divisive claims like these were the reason the impeachment proceedings’ biggest enemy was fake news, clarifying that the impeachment trial was about holding Duterte accountable.

“Kaya nga ‘yung pinakamalaking kalaban natin dito sa buong impeachment process ay ‘yung fake news talaga, because we’re talking about accountability here, and accountability does not respect regional bias,” he said.

“So dapat ‘yung totoo ang manaig, and hopefully everyone can come together and decide whether what we are sharing is really news or fake news,” he added.

The lawmaker advised netizens to check the sources of news they read, to see whether it was shared by a troll account or a legitimate news outlet.

The impeachment trial, aside from demanding accountability from the vice president, is simply a Constitutional duty, said Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila De Lima said later.