The prosecution team managing the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte has highlighted fresh survey results indicating that public opinion leans toward her conviction, even as they emphasized that the trial’s final outcome will rest entirely on legal evidence.
Former Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers, who serves as a spokesperson and adviser for the House prosecution panel, shared data from a Momentum Research survey conducted between October 16 and 19.
According to the poll, 38.8% of Filipinos favor a guilty verdict, narrowly surpassing the 33.8% who support an acquittal.
”Malinaw ang mensahe ng survey: mas marami ang pabor sa conviction kaysa acquittal. Hindi basta-basta nawawala sa isip ng taumbayan ang usapin ng pananagutan, lalo na kung ang pinag-uusapan ay ang yaman ng isang mataas na opisyal ng gobyerno,” Barbers said.
The survey fieldwork followed closely on the heels of the prosecution’s presentation of financial forensic analyst Atty. Alex Cabrera as their final witness. During the hearings, Cabrera testified that the Vice President allegedly accumulated up to ₱817.89 million in undeclared wealth, an amount that could potentially reach ₱1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the poll indicated that 22.6% of respondents remain undecided, while 4.7% declined to answer.
Barbers stated that this substantial undecided segment demonstrates that citizens continuously demand accountability regardless of a public official’s political standing.
”Hindi sapat ang popularidad, apelyido, o lakas ng political machinery para sagutin ang mga seryosong tanong tungkol sa yaman at mga deklarasyon ng ari-arian,” the former lawmaker pointed out.
”Ang hamon sa prosecution ay hindi ang makipagsabayan sa ingay ng pulitika, kundi ilatag ang mga dokumento, financial records, at mga katotohanan na dapat suriin ng korte,” he added.
Despite presenting the poll data, Barbers clarified that public sentiment will not dictate the decisions of the Senate impeachment court concerning the unexplained wealth and Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) violations.
”Hindi survey ang magpapasya sa impeachment trial. Ang magpapasya ay ang ebidensiya at ang batas. Pero malinaw na hindi dapat balewalain ang panawagan ng publiko para sa transparency at accountability,” Barbers maintained.
The prosecution camp expressed confidence that the documentation and evidence introduced before the court are robust enough to secure a conviction.
”Ang mensahe natin ay simple: walang opisyal na dapat maging exempted sa pananagutan. Kung may mga tanong tungkol sa yaman na hindi maipaliwanag, sagutin ito nang malinaw at harapin ang ebidensiya. Hindi dapat manaig ang propaganda sa katotohanan, at hindi dapat manaig ang kapangyarihan sa hustisya,” Barbers concluded.