Bastos

Bastos.

That’s how I characterize Vice President Sara Duterte’s attitude towards her trial as a twice impeached official before the Senate impeachment court. She has repeatedly ignored the impeachment court, refusing to appear before the august body, and even taunting some of its proceedings.

“The Vice President repeatedly said she would face the issues against her and let the proper forum decide. Apparently, when the proper forum finally arrived, she decided she had other plans,” said Ace Barbers, a House prosecution spokesman.

Sara is gallivanting abroad, spending taxpayers’ money. The nonchalance is deliberate: “You cannot get me. And hey, I am sure to be the next president. So be afraid. I could inflict revenge.”

Also, Sara has deployed the most pedestrian-looking and most amateurish lawyers her billions could buy as defense counsels. This adds to the comedic nature of the impeachment trial. Their message: “Bakit inaaapi ninyo si Ma’am Sara eh ang bait-bait niya. Ibinoto siya ng 32 million Pinoys.”

On May 11, 2026, 257 congressmen, 81 percent of total number of congressmen, impeachment VP Sara. The charges:

One, systematic misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of confidential funds totaling P612.5 million – P500 million in the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education. All the money was spent with one pattern – “deficient documentation, questionable purposes and unverifiable outcomes,” says the House Articles of Impeachment.

Sara spent P16 million to rent safe houses for 11 days or P1.45 million per day or enough money to build the safe houses instead of just renting them. The conclusion: the money was wasted, and not for renting safe houses.

The OVP claimed to have given money to 1,922 people; of these, 1,287 do not have birth, death or marital records. They include: Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya and Kokoy Villamin. One receipt even showed a certain Ms. Maluwang (her vagina?).

As DepEd sec, Sara claimed to have given money to 677 recipients; at least 398 of them do not exist. No birth, no death nor martial records. The conclusion: the money was pocketed by somebody else. Nilustay ng mga bruha.

Two, unexplained wealth. She did not fully disclose income and wealth accumulated during all the years she has been vice mayor, mayor and vice president. In 2007, Sara declared only a net worth of P7.25 million. In 2024, she declared a net worth of P88.5 million, 12 times her net worth 17 years ago, an increase of 1,120 percent.

Per records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, during 2006 to 2025, P6.771 billion were transacted in the bank accounts of Sara and her husband, Manases Carpio – P3.772 billion for Sara and P2.998 billion for Manases. During those 19 years, Sara reported an income of only P24 million as a public official. So what is the P3.749 billion (P3.772 billion less P24 million) about?

Three, graft and bribery. She regularly bribed her subordinates with cash envelops A usec received cash envelops of P50,000 nine times to influence her decision as head of the bids and awards committee at DepEd. When the usec refused to heed instructions, she was fired. Sara’s aide, a certain Asec Fajarda, regularly gave cash envelops to DepEd officials “to influence them to act in accordance with her (Sara’s) directives, particularly in relation to procurement and financial approvals,” says the House impeachment articles.

Four, grave threats. Sara repeatedly threatened to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the First Lady and former House speaker Martin Romualdez, as a revenge killing spree.

Says the Articles of Impeachment:

“Respondent’s past actions, as well as that of her family’s, reveal that the threat she made on Nov. 23, 2024 was not an isolated incident, nor a one-time emotional meltdown.

“During a speech on Jan. 28, 2024, respondent’s brother urged President Marcos to remember the Romanovs, Mussolini and what happened to the Marcos family in 1986. On June 19, 2024, respondent, without offering any reason, resigned as DepEd secretary. This was followed by respondent’s refusal to attend the State of the Nation Address on July 11, 2024 and her public self-declaration as the designated survivor. In her Nov. 23, 2024 press conference, respondent stated: “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar.” Finally, during a speech on April 12, 2026, respondent’s brother announced that they only needed one head, the head of President Marcos. This is in addition to respondent’s acts of attending and joining rallies whose intended purposes are against, and question the legitimacy of, President Marcos.

“Respondent’s pattern of public utterances and conduct, punctuated by a repeated use of violent language and intimidating demeanor, tend to undermine the safety of the President, as well as the peace and order of the country, and cause the destabilization of the government she has sworn to protect and serve. Respondent’s statements advocate the removal of the Head of the Executive and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces through illegal means, in direct contravention of the Constitution and falling squarely within the ambit of the crime of inciting to sedition, punishable under Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code.”

So far the evidence and testimonies presented by the prosecution against VP Sara are credible, convincing and compelling.

The threshold for conviction in an impeachment court is very low – do you trust this official, after all her shenanigans, her plan to kill people, her accumulation of vast wealth, the cavalier manner she spent taxpayers’ money and a work and ethics culture unfit for a public official?

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