Vice President Sara Duterte said over the weekend that she “totally agree[s]” with the 88% of Filipinos who want her to be tried by an impeachment court for corruption and other high crimes.
Given the unsettled question on whether the impeachment proceedings started in the current Congress could cross over to the incoming 20th Congress, the vice president said she “[doesn’t] feel anything about the impeachment anymore.”
While counting herself among the 88% of the Social Weather Stations survey respondents wanting her to “address the impeachment charges filed against her” to clear her name, Duterte sounded confident that she’d be able to breeze through the process.
She appears to have more than enough numbers in the incoming Senate to acquit her of all the charges in the articles of impeachment submitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate last February.
The process may not even reach the presentation of evidence stage should the Duterte camp raise the question of jurisdiction to the Supreme Court. Another thing that could be giving her the confidence to hurdle what she terms as “some sort of crucifixion” is the fact that a majority of the Supreme Court justices were appointed by her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte between 2018 and 2022.
In the impeachment complaint, the vice president is accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust for, among others, her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds and for her threat to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
These accusations solidified after Duterte resorted to all sorts of excuses in refusing to respond directly to detailed questions relating to the disbursement of her confidential and other funds in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which she headed until June 2024.
Although she said a few weeks ago that she wanted a “bloodbath” in the impeachment trial, it sounded like her usual exaggerated swagger, bolstered by the victory of at least five senators in the May 12 midterm polls who would most likely vote to acquit her.
In a press conference in The Hague on Saturday, the vice president clarified that when she said she wanted a bloodbath, she meant that she considered her impeachment as a “political persecution… some sort of crucifixion against [her].”
She also said she is “thankful for the opportunity to clear [her] name and answer the accusations against [her].” In the same breath, she questioned the proceedings at the House that led to the filing of impeachment complaints against her. She pointed to what she called “evidence-fishing” during the budget hearings and the alleged harassment of her staff members. She likewise contested the legitimacy of the articles of impeachment, citing the impossibility of garnering more than 200 signatures of congressmen within hours. “How is that possible? Did they even read what they were signing?” she asked.
For sure, the vice president and her camp would use all antics in the book to block the impeachment trial. The time for her to answer the accusations won’t come. She may be able to go scot-free on technicalities, but she’d be missing the opportunity to clear her name. We will never know who is Mary Grace Piattos, Cannor Adrian Contis and the more than 1,900 other dubious names listed as recipients of her P612.5 million confidential funds from 2022 to 2024.
In the remote possibility that the impeachment process would reach the voting stage, Duterte may get more than the nine votes necessary for her acquittal, regardless of how strong the prosecution’s case will be. When that happens, it could pave the way for her journey to the presidency in 2028.
On the other hand, it would be more embarrassing for the Marcos administration, as it would show its weakness in holding the vice president accountable. And that is because the Marcos camp also has too many failures and shortcomings to answer for. As the saying goes, when you point one finger at someone, three other fingers are pointing back at you.
The inclusion of various forms of ayuda in the budget — obviously for self-serving benefits, neglecting essential programs and projects — is a serious mistake the administration has to set right and be true to the president’s longtime promise of ensuring judicious and prudent spending of the national budget.
And he has confidential and intelligence funds far bigger than the vice president’s that he has to account for.
Whether the vice president’s impeachment trial proceeds or not, we are stuck in this sad state of affairs and politics. These are the embarrassing realities we have to learn to handle and survive. This is why we have to be choosy in electing people to positions of power.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
This column also appeared in The Manila Times.
