“At the core of the impeachment case are serious findings of financial misconduct”
In a time when our democratic institutions are being tested to their core, the Senate now faces a defining test of its integrity.
It can either honor the Constitution or undermine it. The apparent hesitation to convene the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is obviously not just a procedural delay.
It is a deliberate act that undermines the rule of law and defies the Senate’s Constitutional duty.
At the core of the impeachment case are serious findings of financial misconduct.
From published reports, in Dec. 2022, the OVP received P125 million in confidential funds and spent it all in just 11 days, including holidays. disbursement receipts submitted to the Commission on Audit featured blatantly fictitious names—such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” blending a popular café and a snack brand and others like “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” “Cannor Adrian Contis,” “Fiona Ranitez,” and “Ellen Magellan” and hundreds more have no birth or death records in the Philippine Statistics Authority—raising serious doubts about the legitimacy of the claimed transactions and points to systemic fraud.
The Filipino people want to see and understand the evidence behind the impeachment charges.
A recent Stratbase commissioned Social Weather Stations survey found that 88 percent of Filipinos believe the Vice President should face the impeachment trial.
Not “might,” not “perhaps”—but “should.” That level of consensus is rare – the public wants the impeachment trial to unfold under the rule of law, not in the shadows of power play.
As the Senate stalled, the clamor has reached a critical mass and is growing fast.
Legal scholars, faith-based organizations, civil society groups, and academic institutions have denounced the Senate’s refusal to convene the impeachment court.
The Ateneo School of Government warned that dismissing the case without trial is “a dereliction of duty and a clear attempt to whitewash the accusations.”
The Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines, representing the country’s religious orders, condemned the delay as a betrayal of truth and a failure of moral leadership.
A coalition of scholars from leading universities—De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila, University of the Philippines, and others—called the Senate’s inaction “a conscious betrayal of constitutional order.”
Civic organizations and democratic reform advocates echoed this concern, including groups aligned with the Makabayan bloc, Akbayan, and other progressive coalitions.
Collectively, these groups, despite their diverse ideologies are now shouting a collective belief that accountability is non-negotiable in a functioning democracy.
And that is the point we must not lose in the noise.
As echoed by legal experts – the Constitution is clear – once the House transmits the Articles of Impeachment, the Senate must constitute itself as an impeachment court.
This is not optional. This is not subject to political discretion. Any refusal or delay is, as newly elected member of the House of Representatives, Leila de Lima recently wrote, a hijacking of our democratic processes and a dangerous precedent that allows impunity to fester at the highest levels.
The stakes are high—not just for the Vice President, but for our very system of checks and balances.
If the Senate shirks on its duty now, it sets a precedent wherein any official occupying an impeachable post can be shielded from accountability by political maneuvering sponsored by powerful interests.
Some senators argue the impeachment charges are politically motivated. But politics is not a shield from justice.
The trial is the forum to determine the truth—through the thorough and transparent scrutiny of the evidence.
If the Vice President is innocent, then the impeachment trial is her opportunity to clear her name.
But to forego the trial with technicalities may spark a destabilizing outrage from the people reminiscent of the impeachment trial of former President Erap Estrada where the Senator Judges voted not to open the envelope containing material evidence of corruption.
And the people are watching.
They are not apathetic.
They are angry.
They want clarity.
The longer the Senate delays, the more it erodes public trust—and the harder it becomes to restore faith in our government institutions.
To the senators: The Constitution does not ask for your opinion on whether the trial should proceed. It commands you to proceed. You took an oath. Live up to it.
To Vice President Duterte: If you have nothing to hide, then face the charges head-on. This is not persecution. This is due process. If you believe in justice, stand before it.
To the Filipino people: Be vocal. Be vigilant. Apathy is complicity. If we want honest governance, we must demand it, loudly and unrelentingly.
Now is the time for truth. Now is the time for justice. Convene the impeachment trial. The Constitution demands it. And so do the people.
