60 percent think some senators won’t be fair in impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — While there will be some senators who will be impartial, a majority of Filipinos believed that there will be some who would not be fair in their decision in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 17 to 24, found that 60 percent of the respondents have views aligned with the statement, “there will be some senators who will be fair and others who will not be fair in judging the impeachment case.”

Only 20 percent believed that all senators will be fair and will not favor any one in judging the case, while 17 percent said the senators will not be fair in their decision.

The remaining four percent did not provide an answer.

The poll results were part of Pulse Asia’s survey on the ongoing impeachment trial of the Vice President.

It did not ask the respondents to identify who among the senator-judges they think would not be fair in their decision.

The survey also asked respondents what they think of the impact of the trial on democracy. Thirty percent said it will have a positive impact, while 31 percent said it will be negative.

The remaining 39 percent said they cannot say if the impeachment trial would have a positive or negative impact on the country’s democracy.

It was previously reported that only 41 percent of the respondents had sufficient or great deal of knowledge about the case against Duterte. Fifty-nine percent said they had little to no knowledge.

Most respondents also want Duterte to personally appear before the Senate impeachment court.

The survey had 2,400 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus two percent.

Palace: No talks on possible VP replacement

There are no talks about possible scenarios in case Vice President Duterte is convicted in her impeachment trial, Malacañang said yesterday.

“There is no conviction yet. We cannot anticipate. We cannot speculate because the defense will present its evidence. There is no decision yet from the impeachment court so it is not being discussed,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said.

“So in fairness to and out of respect to the position of vice president, it is not being discussed. Let us allow the process to move forward,” she added. — Alexis Romero