Senate coup aims to hide proof of Sara’s high crimes

Timing and tactics betrayed their motives as Senate coup pals.They did it Monday just before the House of Reps impeached VP Sara Duterte for high crimes. They knew the House would easily muster the one-third or 106 votes to send the case to the Senate for trial to begin forthwith. The impeachers in fact numbered 257, or more than two-thirds of 318 congressmen.

The coup pals numbered 13 of 24: Alan Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Pia Cayetano, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Camille Villar, Mark Villar, Ronald dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa made a special appearance to complete the slim majority. He had been absent for six months, hiding from Interpol arrest for detention at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

He is implicated in ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity, including the 7,000 officially recorded police killings of drug suspects. Dela Rosa was Duterte’s then Davao City national police chief.

Escudero, Estrada, Villanueva and Marcoleta had additional reason to grab the Senate leadership. The Blue Ribbon committee under the previous leadership had implicated them in the P1.7-trillion flood works scam of 2016-2025. They will now take over BRC to delete their names and evidence.

Imee Marcos blathered that the 257 congressmen each received P20-million cash and P200-million pork barrel to vote for impeachment. If that’s the going rate to prosecute, then the fee to quash Senate trial must be exponentially bigger.

Imee knows that. Her parents escaped accountability for plunder of $10 billion-$30 billion (P205 billion-P615 billion) in 1965-1986. Ferdinand Sr. died in self-exile. Imelda Marcos never spent a day in jail. As Marcos estate administrator, she owes BIR P205-billion estate tax.

The coup pals lied about their intention. Talking out of both sides of his mouth, new Senate President Alan Cayetano said the leadership change had nothing to do with Sara’s impeachment.

“Before us might be the impeachment. Let it be very clear: May mga lumalabas sa news na ang pagpalit ng leadership ay tungkol sa impeachment. Hindi po,” he blah-blahed. The impeachment is “much more than dismissing a complaint because of political affiliation” and “much more than convicting someone without evidence.”

There it is. Cayetano claimed that there is no evidence against VP Sara. That means they will not hold trial because a trial would require presentation of evidence. And the public will be watching.

What are the evidence so far of Sara’s high crimes? Unraveled at the House committee on justice were:

• Undeclared wealth – The Anti-Money Laundering Council recorded P6.77 billion in bank transactions involving Sara’s individual and joint accounts with spouse Atty. Manases Carpio. Breakdown: inflows of P4.43 billion, outflows of P1.55 billion and indeterminate records for P791 million.

Those did not jibe with Sara’s sworn statements of assets, liabilities and net worth as public official in 2007-2025. Her SALNs as mayor, vice mayor and VP show net worth of only P73 million.

• Bribery – Former DepEd USec. Gloria Jumamil Mercado swore that she received nine envelopes each containing P50,000 for nine consecutive months as procurement head. That was when Sara, as DepEd secretary, paid P9 billion for undelivered laptops.

DepEd director Resty Osias and chief accountant Rhunna Catalan also testified to receiving envelopes with cash to hush up.

• Malversation – Office of the VP records showed that Sara received P125-million confidential funds on Dec. 21, 2022. She claimed to have spent it in only 11 days, Dec. 21-31, including Christmas and Rizal Day holidays. It supposedly went to rent of safehouses.

Sara’s former bagman Ramil Madriaga swore that he disposed of the cash not in 11 but only one day, Dec. 22. The P1,000 bills were bundled into P1 million each, sealed in transparent plastic and dropped off by several vehicles in Quezon City and Laguna.

Another P487 million was disbursed by OVP and DepEd to fictitious payees like Mary Grace Piattos, Fernando Tempura, Chippy McDonald, Carlos Oishi, Jane Nova and other snack brands.

Sara never showed up at House hearings to explain herself, but merely claimed through press release that the Commission on Audit allows the use of aliases for confidential fund payees. COA officials testified that Sara never submitted the required document disclosing the true identities and mission performed.

• Sedition – Sara herself livestreamed on Nov. 23, 2024 her plan to assassinate President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta and then-speaker Martin Romualdez. “No joke, no joke” she glared into the camera in the wee hours of the morning.

The NBI is hot on the trail of the hired assassin. Any defense in a Senate trial would only reveal what many generals have long concluded: “May sayad siya (She’s cuckoo)”, thus unfit for the second highest post.

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