PDP-Laban seeks votes to save Sara for 2028
The party headed by impeached Vice President Sara Duterte’s father has called on voters in the May midterm polls to elect her allies as senators who will sit as judges in her trial where a conviction would prevent her from running for president in 2028, which she said she was “seriously considering.”
The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), which is chaired by ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, urged Filipino voters to “choose wisely who they will vote for, especially in the Senate where the fate of VP Sara will be decided.”
“At the end of the day, impeachment is a numbers game and the more allies she has in the Senate, the better for our country,” the party said in a statement on its official Facebook page on Thursday night.
With the support of 215 members of the House of Representatives to the fourth impeachment complaint filed against her, Duterte was impeached on Wednesday, just hours before Congress went on recess for the midterm election campaign.
The Vice President is accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
Just a distraction
The charges in the articles of impeachment against her include her alleged misuse of up to P612.5 million in confidential funds and her threat to have President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated in case she is killed in an alleged plot to kill her.
The PDP-Laban called her impeachment a sham and that it was intended to “distract from the worsening situation of the country.”
“It is the clearest manifestation of dirty politics in the country, an affront to the sovereign will of the Filipino people and reckless abuse of power,” it said. “Through this railroaded impeachment complaint, they wish to sweep under the rug the unprecedented scandals that has (sic) enraged the public.”
The party also claimed that the impeachment was also meant to “destroy” her chances of seeking “higher office” in 2028.
At the House, 25 more lawmakers added their names to the impeachment complaint on verification forms they submitted, Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Friday.
They included two from Mindanao, the supposed bailiwick of the Dutertes, raising the number of Mindanao congressmen who supported the impeachment to 41 out of 61.
These lawmakers, Velasco said, were unable to sign the complaint in person last Wednesday due to commitments abroad or in their respective districts.
Bitter falling-out
The impeachment complaint against Duterte came in the wake of her bitter falling-out with Mr. Marcos, which led her to resign from his Cabinet as education secretary in July last year.
The President’s son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, who was the first to sign the impeachment complaint said that his action should not surprise anyone.
“Should I have just dismissed it when she said she wanted to dig up the body of my grandfather and throw him to the West Philippine Sea, when she said she wanted to kill the President and the first lady who are my parents, she wanted to kill the Speaker?” he said.
Her statements “can’t be taken lightly, especially from someone with such a high position,” he said.
“Of course I’ll be the first one to sign. That should come as no surprise. And so that’s why I was the first one to sign,” he said, but added that he did not spearhead the fourth impeachment complaint.
Preparing since Nov
Facing the media for the first time since she was impeached, Duterte said on Friday that she and her lawyers had been preparing for the impeachment as early as November last year, even before the first of the four complaints was filed.
“Despite all my statements about the planned impeachment over the past months, all I can say at this point is, ‘God save the Philippines,’” she said in a brief statement which she read.
Asked whether she was more determined now in running in the next presidential polls, she said: “I have been saying many times that we are seriously considering [running in 2028], but it’s difficult to decide without numbers.”
Plunging ratings
She said she needed to know what the “surveys and numbers” say.
Her trust ratings as well as that of Mr. Marcos declined in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The Vice President’s net trust rating dropped to 49 percent in the January survey from 52 percent in December last year.
In an April 2024 survey by Pulse Asia, Duterte was one of the most preferred presidential candidates in 2028, with 34-percent preference share, statistically tied with Sen. Raffy Tulfo’s 35 percent.
Political analyst Jean Franco told the Inquirer that if Duterte succeeds in playing the victim in the public eye, that would help her candidacy.
“However, now saying that she intends to run is also hedging on her part,” said Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
‘Brave front’
“It’s kind of telling people who intend to convict her that, ‘Hey, you better think about it since I am running and that the surveys indicate that I’m up there along with Tulfo, so I have a chance,’” Franco said.
At the end of the press conference, Duterte tried to diminish the impact of being the first Philippine vice president to be impeached, saying: “You know, it is more painful to be dumped by your boyfriend or girlfriend than being impeached by the House of Representatives.”
To Franco, that remark could be interpreted by the public as “putting up a brave front” but for her, the Vice President was “taking our institutions lightly, just like how she did during the House hearings.” She was referring to Duterte’s conduct during the House inquiries, particularly her refusal to give details of her use of her confidential funds.
Duterte also said she had no feelings toward the majority of the Mindanao-based lawmakers who supported her impeachment, saying that she had no close personal relationships with politicians anyway.
“Maybe that’s the reason why it was easy for them to decide about the impeachment because there is really nothing that is worthwhile in our friendships,” Duterte said.
She also wondered why the President’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, expressed opposition to her impeachment.
“Maybe we should ask her first, why would she block the impeachment?” Duterte said.
Her ‘anxiety’ showing
In a joint statement, Taguig Rep. Amparo Zamora, Ako Bicol Rep. Jil Bongalon, La Union Rep. Pablo Ortega and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun said the Vice President’s remarks at her press conference indicated “obvious anxiety” over the looming Senate trial.
They said that she failed to address the “grave allegations” against her and offered no “direct rebuttal” to the charges.
They challenged her attempt to undermine the lawmakers who signed the complaint, saying that it was “not the work of a single party or faction but a collective effort by legislators who believe that her actions warrant removal from office.”
“Her attempt at nonchalance cannot mask the reality of the situation. Her statements reflected an underlying fear, poorly disguised as indifference,” they said. “For all her outward defiance, Vice President Duterte cannot escape the reality that this impeachment trial will determine her political survival.”
‘Cavalier attitude’
In a separate statement, the opposition Makabayan bloc composed of ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said they were appalled by Duterte’s “cavalier attitude” toward her historic impeachment by comparing it to a mere romantic breakup.
“This shows her utter disregard for the gravity of the charges against her and her contempt for public accountability,” they said. “This is a serious matter of accountability to the people and misuse of public funds.”
“God save the Philippines from corruption and EJKs (extrajudicial killings). God save the Philippines from Duterte 2.0,” they said. “There, you will have to face not a heartbroken lover, but the Filipino people demanding accountability.”
