The House prosecution panel has rejected the claim of Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team that her more than 32 million votes in the 2022 elections protect her from being held accountable, stressing that public support does not place any elected official above the law.
During the Senate impeachment trial on Monday, lead defense counsel Sheila Sison argued that the impeachment case seeks to remove an official who was elected by millions of Filipinos, pointing to the Vice President’s strong electoral mandate.
Responding to the argument, former Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers, who serves as an adviser and spokesperson for the House prosecution panel, said that receiving millions of votes does not excuse violations of the law by public officials.
Barbers said:
“Hindi naman license yung 32 million votes na mag-commit tayo na mga paglabag sa batas, lalung-lalo na kung ikaw isang public officer.”
He emphasized that the Constitution provides mechanisms to ensure government officials remain answerable for their actions if they violate laws or established rules.
Barbers added:
“Nakasaad sa ating Saligang Batas na merong mga accountability mechanism na kung saan merong mga pananagutan na dapat harapin ang mga public officer kung merong silang nilabag na batas o mga alituntunin.”
He also challenged the reasoning presented by the defense, questioning whether a large electoral mandate should be interpreted as permission to disregard legal and constitutional limits.
Barbers said:
“Does that mean because you’re the most powerful person in the government and because you were able to get (huge number) of votes, does that give you a license to commit all these violations?”
According to Barbers, the accountability provisions in the Constitution were established to safeguard the Filipino people from possible abuses of power by public officials.
He concluded:
“Sa aking palagay medyo hindi yung intention nung gumawa ng ating Saligang Batas. Kaya inilagay ito is because para proteksyunan ang ating ang interest, ang ating mamamayang Pilipino doon sa mga maring pag-abuso.”