Politics and accountability

There are pro and anti-impeachment congressmen.

And then there are those who prefer to have nothing to do with it, seeing the process as just politics as usual – more of a fight between two of the fattest dynasties than the pursuit of accountability.

That opinion has some basis. But for the pro-impeachment camp, not to worry; the number of those opting out of the process won’t be enough, I think, to stop the looming impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte by next week.

However, if this attitude becomes prevalent, we might never see anyone held accountable for betrayal of public trust and stealing billions from us taxpayers.

Of course the impeachment process is laced with politics, from the House to the Senate. And of course it springs from the warfare between the Marcos-Romualdez and Duterte clans.

For those of us, however, who have been waiting forever for a big fish to actually spend a sufficiently long period behind bars, we can settle for any opportunity to prosecute crooks.

So what if the pursuit of accountability springs from political warfare?

In a perfect world, where the rule of law prevails and democratic institutions are fully functional, the system rather than political warfare allows those who abuse power and loot public coffers to be caught and punished.

In our imperfect, dysfunctional society, we can even be grateful when political warfare erupts and the opposing sides expose each other’s rot. Often, such cases provide the only opportunity for stopping wrongdoing.

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If the UniTeam hadn’t broken up as Martin Romualdez hallucinated about becoming the next president instead of Inday Sara, would the Marcos administration have changed its opposition to cooperating with the International Criminal Court and bundling off Rodrigo Duterte to prison in The Hague?

I’m sure relatives of the thousands who were killed on mere suspicion of involvement in the illegal drug trade don’t care if political warfare put Duterte in Scheveningen Prison, awaiting ICC trial for crimes against humanity.

Without political warfare, would the congressional investigations have been carried out, exposing the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under VP Sara?

Citing politics as usual for boycotting the House plenary vote on the impeachment is a cop-out. Impeachment is both a political process and an instrument of accountability. It’s a numbers game, and those entrusted with the process are all politicians – so how can it not be political?

Fortunately for the pro-impeachment congressmen, it looks like the number of those opting out of the House plenary vote won’t make a dent in the expected outcome next week.

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Everyone is preparing for the Senate trial. The fearless forecast of Rody Duterte’s former chief legal counsel Sal Panelo is that only four or, at most, six senators would vote to convict and oust the VP.

There’s turbulence in political waters these days, however, and that fearless forecast could be upended. Already, there’s persistent talk that among the three or four senators seen to be the most diehard Duterte supporters, one appears ready to jump ship and is sending out feelers to the opposing camp.

It’s difficult to predict how senators notorious for opportunistic loyalties will vote in case the House prosecutors present incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing. Especially with the VP’s ratings slipping steadily as the names of her potential challengers in 2028 begin emerging.

With each survey being released, showing her ratings either down or flat (despite her early public declaration that she’s running for president), VP Sara becomes less of a shoo-in for the nation’s highest post. This can impact political support and potential funding for her presidential campaign.

The House justice panel, for one, shrugged off her announcement of her presidential bid – widely seen as a warning of retribution in case she wins in 2028. The justice committee voted unanimously to approve the report on the Articles of Impeachment, for submission to the plenary, where the required 106 votes are expected to be obtained easily.

At the Senate, whose members are more impacted by public opinion, the DDS senators must at least go through the motions of reviewing the evidence to be presented – regardless of perceived political motivation in the prosecution – before voting against conviction and the VP’s ouster.

The challenge for the administration, if it wants credibility, is to show that its pursuit of accountability is not selective. As many have pointed out, much will depend on how the administration deals with BBM’s cousin Martin and the outcome of the supposed hunt for Zaldy Co.

But even if the whole thing looks selective, when presented with the opportunity to hold public officials accountable, the nation should seize it.