Vice President Sara Duterte revealed she has stopped communicating with several senators, even those seemingly supportive of her, to protect them from alleged harassment by the administration.
Speaking in Zamboanga City, Duterte addressed questions about a rumored term-sharing arrangement in the Senate leadership, reportedly tied to keeping the majority intact amid the possibility of an impeachment trial against her.
“I no longer talk with senators because in my observation, everytime [a senator] would talk to me or would help me or would just ask if how I am doing, they are being attacked by the administration,” Duterte said. “They will either face charges, be threatened or be harassed.”
She noted that her caution extends beyond the Senate to shield others from what she described as the “administration’s bad side.” Duterte did not name the specific senators she is avoiding.
Allies in the upper chamber have since formed the so-called “Duterte bloc,” composed of minority senators who opposed holding an impeachment trial against her last year. These include Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, and Rodante Marcoleta.
Other minority senators—though not publicly affiliated with the bloc—include Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, and Alan Peter Cayetano.
Escudero, during his term as Senate president, argued that the Senate was not required to immediately hold a trial after the House transmitted the Articles of Impeachment, a stance criticized given the constitutional mandate to proceed “forthwith.”
He was later replaced by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who has taken a different approach.
Estrada and Villanueva are also under government investigation for alleged involvement in anomalous flood control projects, though both have denied any wrongdoing.