In what may turn out to be the most shameless act of the Senate under the leadership of Chiz “Runny Nose” Escudero, the Upper Chamber is preparing the ground for the junking of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio under orders by Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who had earlier argued that her impeachment would not benefit a single Filipino. However, the matter of assembling the Senate as an impeachment court is beyond Marcos Jr.’s authority. The ship has sailed and Duterte Jr. had already been impeached and must be subjected to trial. To subject Sara to a tongue bath at this stage is to embolden her to commit more abuses.
If Marcos Jr. insists that he could scrap the process, he would then be meddling with a process distinct to the Senate that apparently “Runny Nose” Escudero loathes to pursue, first by quibbling about the meaning of “forthwith,” the word used in the Constitution that commands the chamber to conduct the impeachment trial. Escudero argued he could use his precious time to delay the trial because the framers of the Constitution did not use the word “immediately” to compel him to act. The distinction is pretty unique to the Escudero English Dictionary. The reading of the case scheduled for June 3 was also delayed to June 11 “due to the Senate’s pressing legislative business.”
Duterte Jr. must be laughing herself hoarse in extremely cold The Hague since she had demanded a “bloodbath” when what she meant was that she would be subjected to “crucifixion” during the trial. Sen. de la Rosa’s “Tokhang” was a bloodbath, along with the murders committed by the Duterte Death Squad (DDS) in Davao City but Sara’s self-inflicted tribulations cannot lead to her “crucifixion.” Gentiles were, indeed, crucified and the Pharisees had everything to do with the barbaric punishments inflicted by Jews. Sara should know the distinction since her heritage is Jewish but why does she keep on committing egregious grammatical errors as grievous as her legal fumbles? The bloodbath covered 30,000 murdered Filipinos. Sara thinks that her “martyrdom” at the Senate would trigger an avalanche of sympathy until 2028 and prevent Bong Go from entertaining the idea that he is the best bet for the presidency three years hence. Jews do not recognize Christ as the Messiah. The cross doesn’t belong to Judaism.
What Marcos Jr. is doing, and what exiting Sen. Francis Tolentino (with three masteral degrees) is arguing is that the impeachment trial was the job of the 19th Congress and that the Senate “cannot carry unfinished proceedings into the next Congress. Allowing the 20th Congress to take over this trial would be ultra vires or beyond our constitutional power.” He argued that “jurisdiction over impeachment is exclusive to the Congress that receives the complaint.” The 19th Congress “cannot bind” the subsequent Congress with its decisions, added Escudero, and that statement explained away why he dilly-dallied on the Sara impeachment. Tolentino and Escudero’s statements should be music to Marcos Jr.’s ears, in case he really wants to put the impeachment case, including the mountain of evidence, into the nearest crematorium.
By the herky-jerky messaging of Malacanang and the Senate, Sara has found it necessary to heckle the Palace and the Senate, urging them to proceed with the impeachment trial and her desired “bloodbath,” supremely confident that the Senate would absolve her since the trial is political, not judicial, and that she has more than nine ducks in a row at the Upper Chamber. By Go’s count, there are five Duterte partisans at the Senate, including Imee Marcs and Rodante Marcoleta, who was supposed to exempt poor consumers from paying their electric bills and who wants crosses to be taken out of classrooms and public buildings. Is he cocksure about the loyalty of Imee or Camille Villar, who is still busy answering the abuses of Crime Water. Sara thinks the trial will be political theater and she wants it since it is free publicity but the general public wants it, too, to understand how the republic is being scammed and why the voters want the trial to proceed.
Miffed by the possible betrayal by Marcos Jr. and his gang, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chairperson Danilo Ramos said “President Marcos Jr. is the biggest obstacle to holding the impeachment trial. His role in halting this vital democratic process cannot be denied, and he must face the strongest condemnation and protest from all of us.” Ramos explained that the must proceed so that the public will see who truly stands for accountability and who wants to bury the truth. “Hindi pwedeng walang mangyari sa kasong impeachment kay Sara Duterte. Authorities must ensure that those involved in the misuse of funds face legal consequences.” Ramos said the impeachment complaints raise serious issues that cannot be ignored. One of the core allegations is the grave misuse and abuse of confidential and intelligence funds by Sara Duterte. These funds, which amount to billions of pesos, were allocated to fictitious individuals without clear and transparent processes and are widely believed to have been spent for personal or political purposes rather than for the intended national security.
Ramos also pointed out that the misuse of confidential funds is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of corruption under the previous Duterte administration. During Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, confidential and intelligence funds were used without proper oversight and accountability. The KMP strongly asserts that these issues are not minor or trivial. Misusing public funds undermines accountability, public service and betrays the trust of the Filipino people, especially the farmers and rural communities who suffer most from lack of support and social services. If these are left unchecked, it will embolden recidivists to commit graft, profit from government deals and abuse their power.
“The misuse of confidential funds is a direct theft of the people’s resources and a betrayal of public trust. The Filipino people must stand united and raise the loudest protests to demand the continuation of the impeachment trial. We must hold President Marcos Jr. and his allies accountable and defend our democratic rights,” Ramos insisted. “We call on all democratic sectors, organizations, and individuals to join the upcoming protests and actions. Let us unite in demanding accountability, especially in the face of the misuse of public funds and the suppression of legitimate impeachment proceedings. We will not remain silent in the fight for justice and true democracy,” KMP concluded.
