Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp has strongly criticized ongoing discussions concerning potential successors, labeling such talks as premature and a deliberate diversion from the core legal and constitutional issues surrounding her ongoing impeachment proceedings.
Atty. Paolo Panelo, the Vice President’s spokesperson, questioned the fairness and structural integrity of the Senate Impeachment Court, pointing to potential due process violations and the constitutionality of altering the conviction threshold.
He also raised concerns regarding the impartiality of senator-judges who are reportedly facing or under threat of plunder and other criminal charges.
Furthermore, Panelo criticized the Senate majority’s handling of the prosecution’s withdrawal of multiple articles, which he asserted resulted in an unnecessary waste of public funds and judicial time.
“Discussions on possible replacements for the Vice President are not only premature, they are a distraction from the serious issues hounding the impeachment,” Panelo said.
“These issues raise grave doubts as to whether a conviction by the Senate Impeachment Court, and any consequent attempt to install a replacement, would rest on any solid legal and moral foundation,” he added.
To back concerns regarding public trust, Panelo highlighted a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, noting that only 28 percent of Filipinos express confidence in the impeachment court’s ability to deliver a fair judgment, translating to a record-low net trust rating of -7 percent.
Beyond the courtroom drama, Panelo argued that replacing the Vice President will do nothing to solve pressing socioeconomic problems currently burdening ordinary citizens, such as accelerating inflation, agricultural threats from the El Niño phenomenon, a sluggish post-pandemic economic growth rate, and the continuous decline of the peso.
“More importantly, replacing the Vice President will not solve the country’s most urgent crises,” Panelo stated, adding that the administration and its political allies are prioritizing political maneuvering over basic public needs.
“The impeachment has only made clear how this administration and its allies prioritize political maneuvering over the issues that matter most to ordinary Filipinos: putting food on the table, keeping the economy afloat, and securing the nation’s future,” he concluded.