BATASAN HILLS, Quezon City — Lawmakers in the Lower House were not surprised with reports that Vice President 'Inday' Sara Duterte-Carpio will be tapping her father, former president Rodrigo 'Rody' Duterte, as her lawyer in any legal cases she might deal with, including the possibility of an impeachment trial against her.

“I don't see any problem with that. It is the vice president's decision as to [the legal counsel] she will choose,” Surigao del Norte District II representative Robert Ace Barbers enthused in a radio interview.

Barbers headed as lead chair the House Quad Committee's investigations on the bloody war on drugs initiated by Duterte during his term as president and the extra judicialkillings (EJKs) that were perpetuated in the same period.

The Surigao solon also stated that it is well within anyone's rights, when facing a trial, to choose their legal counsel. However, the Duterte patriarch may also face criminal charges for his drug war's extrajudicial killings, as the House mega panel recommended. The Department of Justice (DoJ) is already building the case.

Under Section 12 of the Bill of Rights, it us stipulated that “Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice.”

The House good government committee’s chairperson, Manila District III representative Joel Chua, shared a similar view with Barbers, citing that "(it) is (VP Sara's) right to choose a counsel of her choice.”
Kabataan party-list solon Raoul Manuel added that the father-daughter legal team-up would be a "political spectacle."

Prior to this, VP Sara had announced that her father would be joining her legal team, clarifying that since she refused financial aid from her father for her legal troubles, she allowed him to take part in crafting a defense with her team of lawyers.

“He said, since I won’t accept the money, he would lawyer for me. So he said he would be a collaborating counsel for all cases,” she enthused in Pilipino.

She described that her father was concerned about her legal troubles, especially so since she is also expecting possible criminal complaints for grave threats and for allegedly violating the Anti-Terrorism Law.
“He’ll be one of the lawyers for all of the cases, and he is preparing his documents now in IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines),” the vice president said.