Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero is taking his sweet time on the issue of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio, who has described the filing of the seven articles of impeachment as not as serious as losing her boyfriend or girlfriend, reminding us of one heiress who described losing her boyfriend as akin to losing her favorite watch.
Escudero is banking on Senate rules, saying the chamber is in recess so the impeachment trial must wait, in contravention of the Constitutional provision that once received, the Senate “shall” forthwith constitute itself into an impeachment court. Thus, it is mandatory since a constitutional provision holds sway over an administrative rule. Understandably, some senators want any trial to begin on June 2, 2025, when the results of the midterm election shall have been known. Those who kissed the ring of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 and beyond fear that if they are perceived to be partial to the complainants, they will lose the Duterte cult vote along with their aligned religious zealots.
There is the case of ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, who declined to sign the impeachment complaint along with 239 other lawmakers since he “honestly” believed his signature “would affect his impartiality” since he thinks he is a cinch to win a Senate seat. This weird theory falls since Tulfo is currently being accused of fraud, with the US Embassy purportedly telling him to his face that he got his US citizenship and passport through fraudulent means—using a fake birth certificate that “disclosed” he was born in the US under an assumed name when, in fact, he was born in Tacloban City. Surely, Erwin’s caper was a serious US federal crime and the likelihood is that he will be prosecuted under US law.
Stranger still, the Comelec under Chairman George Erwin Garcia, has not acted on the documents from the Embassy that showed a fraudulent American is running for a seat at the Philippine Senate. Fraud is fraud and the sauce for goose should be sauce for the gander. Lesser mortals have been kicked out of the election by the Comelec for lesser offenses. So, fraud is now simply a misdemeanor? These and more amply show that Garcia, bless his heart, has little truck with decency and hornbook legal doctrines. No wonder then that he was roundly criticized for ordering that the ballots be printed without the names of some congressional and senatorial aspirants that the Comelec had erased. Printing only stopped when the Supreme Court (SC) ordered a halt and reinstated the names of those candidates. The estimated cost of the error? P150-million.
Erwin Tulfo, his brother Ben and sister, resigned Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo, were involved in the P60-million advertisement deal between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the state-run People’s Television Network Inc. (PTNI) in 2018. Wanda awarded the deal to a PTV-4 program run by her brothers Erwin and Ben, declaring that she didn’t know that her brothers also owned the company that produced the ads. Wanda was also accused of appointing her husband to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), a DOT instrumentality in abject violation of laws against nepotism. This year, she is running for a post at the Lower House under a party list, making three controversial Tulfo siblings join the mid-term races along with at least three other Tulfos wives or nephews. Ben and Erwin at first promised to return the P60 million as ordered by the Ombudsman but later made a volte-face. If you can renege on a promise of financial restitution you have made, there is no longer any reason for you to be trusted.
Returning to the other circus, the one starring Escudero, his explanation of why the impeachment trial can wait is that the Senate is not in session. Still, legal eagles quickly seized the opportunity to bash him, arguing that the chamber could call for the trial to commence. It is not even necessary for the President to call for a special session for that since impeachment is not a legislative process by any means. Now, the Senate President is saying the trial can proceed after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) is delivered. While Escudero was explaining while nursing his usual runny nose, observers could not help but notice that the Senate doesn’t seem to be impressed with the argument that the impeachment trial is a crucial test of the Senate’s commitment to justice and the war on grafters and corruption.
In response to the impeachment of Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio, Duterte naturally filed a graft case against Sara’s foe, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and several lawmakers for crafting a fraudulent General Appropriations Bill for 2025, alleging that at least 10 pages of the draft law were blank. Malacanang shattered the claim by producing the enrolled 4,057-page copy of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (2025 GAA) signed by Marcos Jr. But then, misery loves company. By not filing the graft case, and creating more distractions along the way, the Duterte faction would lose the war for attention. It would mean, under current US political lingo, a “failure of imagination” by the Duterte camp.
As we head into the bigger circus, the May 2025 midterm election, expect more bread and circuses, as Juvenal stressed, that will prevent the oppressed Roman masses from rising against tyrants. Similarly, when money is spread, like jam on bread, there can be a respite from social turmoil, when real issues are cast by the wayside and trivial matters gain purchase. That is precisely what the Dutertes, Escuderoses, Marcoses and the hundreds of political dynasties want to happen. Give them Imee’s bread, Camille Villar’s “bibingka” and gift certificates, Bong Go’s nauseating false rhetoric and Bato de la Rosa’s fisticuffs against persons with disability (PWDs) and gutter entertainment by aging comedians to prevent this eventuality: “Arma in armatos sumere jura sinunt.” Simply put, “the law permits the taking up of arms against the armed.”
