Duty, Not Personal: Degamo's Stance on Vice President Impeachment
In a powerful and deeply personal statement, Representative Janice Degamo of Negros Oriental 3rd District addressed the House Committee on Justice regarding the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. Degamo's testimony was marked by her own tragic experience with political violence, which she used to emphasize the gravity of the situation.
Recalling the assassination of her husband, Governor Roel Degamo, in 2023, she shared, "She knows the depth of that pain. She knows how seriously I take threats made by or against public officials. This is not about anger, or politics, or personal animosity. It is about duty."
Degamo's position is grounded in a constitutional obligation to investigate serious allegations. She highlighted the historical context of political killings in the country, particularly the fourth complaint alleging a plot against the President, which she believes cannot be ignored.
"The complaint alleges grave acts. At this stage, we are not judging guilt. We are only determining whether the allegations, if true, rise to the level of impeachable offenses," she explained.
The lawmaker argued that the impeachment process provides an appropriate platform for the Vice President to address the accusations directly and clear her name. She emphasized that the gravity of the complaints warrants a thorough examination by the House.
"My position comes from a place of sorrow, responsibility, and respect for our institutions, nothing more, nothing less," Degamo added.
The House Committee on Justice has recently deemed two of the four initial complaints sufficient in form, paving the way for the next stage of the process, which will focus on determining sufficiency in substance.
