Following the Supreme Court’s decision to bar the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte on grounds of due process, progressive think tank IBON Foundation issued a series of tweets condemning what it described as “impunity at the highest levels” and renewing its call for regime change, not just in leadership, but in the entire political and economic system.
“They can get away with high-level corruption? Yes, we need regime change,” IBON declared, responding to the SC’s ruling that effectively halted accountability efforts against Duterte for at least a year.
The foundation emphasized that regime change should not be mistaken for merely replacing the person in power.
“Hindi lang pagpapalit ng uupo sa poder ang pag-change sa regime. Buong sistemang pumapalibot sa kanya dapat,” it said, pointing to the entrenched structures that enable corruption, inequality, and poor governance.
IBON criticized the shortsightedness of traditional politics, which it said is obsessed with elections and the accumulation of wealth and power.
“That’s their DNA,” the group asserted, adding that the current political elite lacks the capacity for long-term economic planning.
The foundation also raised alarm over the concentration of political influence among the country’s wealthiest tycoons, claiming that the three richest Filipinos are backing the three most dominant political parties.
“Isa yan sa makakatulak ng regime change,” IBON said, warning that the elite’s grip on both politics and the economy threatens democratic processes and deepens inequality.
“Only the people’s movement can push this,” IBON concluded, calling on civil society, grassroots organizations, and ordinary Filipinos to mobilize for genuine systemic change — one that dismantles not just the elite political system but the entrenched elitist economy that sustains it. (ZIA LUNA)
