‘High ratings not a shield from impeachment’

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s improved satisfaction rating does not mean she can evade accountability for alleged violations of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust as these are decided on evidence, not popularity, the House prosecution team said yesterday.

House prosecution legal spokesman and private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said public approval does not place any impeachable official beyond scrutiny for alleged violations of the Constitution, pointing out that impeachment is “not a popularity contest but a constitutional accountability mechanism.”

He said the Social Weather Stations survey conducted from June 20 to 29, before Duterte’s Senate trial began, showed measured satisfaction with her performance rather than public judgment on the impeachment evidence.

The House prosecution maintained that survey respondents may approve of particular services delivered by the Vice President while still supporting a constitutional inquiry into separate allegations concerning threats, confidential funds and unexplained wealth.

Tolosa recalled how public sentiment during the impeachment of former chief justice Renato Corona was initially low but changed as evidence emerged during the trial.

Corona was eventually convicted by the Senate impeachment court for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust over his failure to fully disclose his assets in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, leading to his removal from office.

Tolosa said the same principle should apply to the impeachment proceedings against Duterte, urging Filipinos to withhold judgment until both sides have fully presented their evidence before the Senate impeachment court.

“We are always asking, let us not get ahead of this process. We are appealing to our countrymen to follow carefully the developments of the impeachment proceedings, listen and analyze all the evidence,” he said.

Tolosa also said it is too early to draw conclusions from surveys measuring public opinion on the impeachment case, saying such surveys should be conducted once the public has heard the evidence presented by both the prosecution and defense.

Meanwhile, the Clergy for Good Governance on Friday backed the move of House prosecutors after they asked the impeachment court to subpoena the bank and tax records of Vice President Duterte.

“As pastors, we speak not from partisan ambition but from conscience. We do not ask the Senate impeachment court to convict without proof, nor do we ask it to abandon due process. What we ask is that no shield of secrecy be used to withhold evidence that the law permits the court to examine,” the Clergy for Good Governance said. — Bella Cariaso