A viral Facebook post is claiming that a majority of Filipino voters believe taxpayers’ money is being wasted on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. This needs context.
The claim is based on results from the PAHAYAG 2026 Third Quarter survey conducted by polling firm PUBLICUS Asia Inc. from Oct. 1 to 4. While the survey reported that 63% of its 1,581 registered voter-respondents viewed the time and resources spent on the trial as an unreasonable use of government funds, the findings reflect only the opinion of the sampled respondents—not necessarily the entirety of the voting population.
First posted on Oct. 15, an FB page uploaded a photo featuring human rights lawyer and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno at the center, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon on the left, and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro on the right. The image carried a banner bearing the text:
“BREAKING NEWS
“HINDI 8080 ANG TAUMBAYAN” (The people are not stupid)
MAJORITY OF FILIPINO VOTERS SAY TAXPAYERS’ MONEY IS BEING WASTED ON VP SARA’S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL”
The long-captioned post presented the reported survey result as proof that several respondent-voters consider the impeachment trial a waste of Filipinos’ taxes. It surfaced amid online disputes over the cost of the proceedings, particularly after the House prosecution panel withdrew three of the four articles of impeachment against Duterte on Oct. 13.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian clarified on Oct. 14 that the trial’s directly attributable expenses totaled ₱14.55 million over 44 trial days, or an average of about ₱330,763 per day. He said the frequently cited figure of ₱25 million a day represented the operating costs of the entire Senate—including salaries, maintenance, rent and utilities—which the chamber would incur even without the trial.
The page which published the post needing context mostly posts anti-administration and pro-Duterte content.
The post was published by FB page Pinoy Showbiz (created March 1, 2018) and shared by several other accounts. Collectively, the posts garnered 11,223 reactions, 2,933 comments and 1,402 shares.
