We have a vague recollection of what really happened not too long ago when then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte hit the headlines after she punched in the face a court sheriff who was implementing the ejection of informal settlers from the area they were occupying then.
Her supporters claimed she was simply defending the right of the informal settlers to due process, and what she did was proper and lawful given the prevailing circumstances.
But as Davao City Chief Executive, she should have exercised prudence and given the sheriff the opportunity to explain his action in the proper forum, rather than allowing her instinct to cloud her judgment and take the law into her own hands.
We cite this incident to put things in perspective after the House of Representatives approved by a vote of 215 out of more than 300 members the fourth impeachment complaint against her.
Does this indicate a character flaw that should have warned us early on that she should not be trusted at all to occupy higher public office?
Less than three years as Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary, Sara Duterte has shown through her actions that she has failed to live up to expectations and violated her oath of office.
The 1987 Constitution lays down several grounds for impeachment of high officials, including the President and Vice President, among others. These are culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.
Three other impeachment complaints had earlier been filed against her by various groups and individuals for the reasons cited in the fundamental law.
The fourth impeachment complaint basically agrees with the three previous ones that she had abused her position as Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary by spending P125 million in confidential and intelligence funds in 11 days under questionable circumstances, thus providing clear evidence of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.
At this point, the Senate has already received the impeachment complaint against the Vice President. But it has not discussed what to do with it as it lacked enough time during its last session day before adjournment on January 5.
The question now is how the 24 senators will vote on the issue.
We know that at least three of them or four of them will likely vote against her removal from office. How about the others? Given its current composition, it would take only eight senators to throw out the impeachment complaint and 16 to vote for her removal from the vice presidency.
The impeachment of the second highest elected official throws the political situation in the country into a period of uncertainty and turmoil amid the start of the official campaign period for the upcoming midterm polls.
But the national leadership should be able to manage the situation well so that the Senate sitting as the impeachment court can render a verdict based on the available evidence rather than on political considerations.
A fair and credible trial will allow the nation to move forward and maintain political stability, economic growth and social cohesion in the years ahead.
