There are as many opinions about the ongoing Impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as there are people commenting. The four articles of impeachment cover a wide range of issues, making them complicated.
But I think they are not. I view it as a well-coordinated effort to unseat Vice President Sara Duterte before her term ends in 2028.
It is like the story of the Presidential campaign of incumbent US President Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate. He was deluged by civil and criminal cases right in the middle of his campaign. He was convicted by a New York City judge of more than thirty felonies, which were later given an unconditional discharge. There were other cases in the states of Georgia and Florida that were dismissed. He was not guilty, after all.
The campaign slogan of the Democratic Party portrayed him as a convicted felon, a criminal. Of course, the party did not tell the voters that the decision was not final. The Democrats thought that a felon would never become President. They were wrong. President Trump got three million more votes than Kamala Harris.
He also won in the seven so-called swing states (with very little difference in the number of Republican and Democratic voters) that are crucial in the Electoral College system for electing the US President.
More people simply believed in his ability to lead than his opponent did.
President Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives twice, in 2020 and 2021, but in both instances the Senate acquitted him. He was not removed from office.
Donald Trump won the 2024 election. The cases did not deter him from campaigning. Yes, he did campaign after every trial by speaking outside the courtroom, seeking to turn public opinion in his favor.
It worked. It was a dirty campaign that included prying into his private life decades ago.
Walang patawad ang Democrats. I have not seen anything even close to it in the local political scene.
The ongoing impeachment hearings are our own version of that US experience. But our version is taking a huge toll on the economic and political side.
It has a negative effect on investor confidence, and we are spending big time. An estimate put it at 25 million pesos per day due to staff salaries and the Senate's operating expenses. In an estimated 90 days of hearings, this amount will add up to 2.25 billion pesos. That is enough to construct 300 kilometers of concrete roads.
If the Senators vote to acquit the Vice President, her political opponents' next recourse is the regular courts.
She could enter the Presidential campaign burdened by such cases.
If she wins the 2028 presidential election, she will have gone through a situation similar to President Donald Trump's.
The lesson is: no matter what cases are filed against her, she can always rely on the millions of Filipinos who support her at this time.
That is a base the Marcos administration cannot seem to shake. Judging by the way things are unfolding, they never will
She can win by not saying much. Notice the one-sentence message when she visited the Senate building last week. She said, ”she will be bloodied but unbowed”.
. In this case, she will just hammer on the inadequacies of the present administration, which are evident in the substantial increases in the prices of food and other basic needs. In fact, one can say - in everything.
If she wins, it will largely be based on the expectations and exasperation of people who expected a lot from the Marcos administration but, thus far, have not been delivered on.
New problems have emerged with a bang, such as graft and corruption at the DPWH, which the department has admitted to but has yet to resolve. The cases promised to be filed since September 2025 have not been filed. There seems to be no hope that they will ever be filed.
The Marcos administration has thrown even the kitchen sink. But VP Sara is still leading in the surveys, even though she doesn't seem to be doing much in terms of direct services. I believe she is rarely invited to graduation ceremonies or the launching of government programs. The reason is obvious: fear of the powers above their hierarchies.
It looks like she is considered by millions of Filipinos as a symbol of hope, so that things will turn around in their favor. Which is another way of saying that the present administration is not turning things around, even if they throw the kitchen sink at VP Sara.
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