Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, legal counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte, on Friday rejected Malacañang's criticism of the Vice President's camp, insisting that its recent statement on the criminal cases against Duterte was "not a threat" but a legal question that should ultimately be resolved by the courts.
During a virtual press conference, Lim responded to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro's statement that the criminal cases against the Vice President remain valid because they are separate from impeachment proceedings.
Lim said he respects Castro's opinion but maintained that their legal position differs and should be resolved by the judiciary.
“I would of course respect her opinion. Any lawyer, as I mentioned earlier, bawat abogado may kanyang pananaw dyan at opinion. But of course, iba yung pananaw namin... Ayoko naman ipag-debate tungkol sa isang bagay na lalong-lalo na nabanggit ko na sub judice. Yung mga merito ng mga argumento namin na nasa motion, ay nakahain na sa Korte. So yung Korte nang bahala dyan after hopefully magkaroon ng oral arguments,” Lim said.
Lim also denied the Palace's suggestion that the Vice President's camp was issuing another threat after it questioned whether other impeachable officials, including the President, Ombudsman, and Supreme Court justices, could also face criminal prosecution while in office.
He stressed that the statement merely raised a legal issue concerning the treatment of impeachable officials under the law.
“It was never issued as a threat. It was issued as a statement of fact,” Lim said.
He explained that the camp was asking whether the same legal standard being applied to the Vice President would also apply to other impeachable officials.
“If she will be treated this way, yun na ba ang mangyayari din sa iba? ...Tama naman sinabi niya, no one is above the law. And I agree with that. If the Vice President has to answer, for example, for any crime, should it be now that she is still a sitting Vice President or later when she is no longer, if ever? Is it the same also for other impeachable officers?” he said.
Lim added that these constitutional questions should be addressed by the courts, expressing hope that oral arguments would be granted to fully discuss the legal issues raised by the Vice President's camp.
