MARIING binatikos ni House committee on public accounts chairman at Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon ang pasya ng Senado na i-archive ang impeachment complaint laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte, na nagsilbi umanong balakid upang malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino ang katotohanan.

“The Senate ended the trial before it began. They denied the Filipino people the chance to hear the evidence, confront the allegations, and see accountability in action. What we saw was not vindication, but evasion,” ani Ridon.

Iginiit niya na ang P612.5 milyon sa confidential funds—kabilang ang kontrobersyal na P125 milyon na nagastos sa loob lamang ng 11 araw—ay nananatiling walang malinaw na paliwanag.

“There was no presentation of allegations. There was no defense. No rebuttal. No attempt to answer the charges head-on. Just silence. And silence is not the language of innocence,” giit ni Ridon.

Dagdag ni Ridon, nagawa ng Kamara ang tungkulin nito sa ilalim ng Konstitusyon nang ipadala sa Senado ang kaso para sa paglilitis, subalit pinagtakpan ng Senado sa pamamagitan ng isang procedural vote.

“This sets a dangerous precedent—that accountability can be escaped, not by disproving allegations, but by shutting down the process itself,” babala pa ng mambabatas.

“The facts remain. The funds were spent. The questions were asked. But the answers—the truth—never came,” diin ni Ridon.