DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 6 July 2026) — If the vice president is innocent and her office is clean, what scares her to face the impeachment trial?
This was the statement of a leader of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)-Southern Mindanao, the group that led a protest action calling for the conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte as the 92-day trial for her impeachment case at the Senate begins Monday.
“Kung tinuod nga wala siya’y sala o kung tinuod nga hinlo iyahang opisina, so unsa’y dapat niyang kahadlukan?” (If it’s true that she has no wrongdoings or that her office is clean, what’s scaring her?) Rauf Sissay, a member of the BAYAN-Southern Mindanao secretariat, told reporters after the group staged a protest along Roxas Ave. here, adding that she must face the impeachment trial.
Sissay recalled that the vice president has not presented herself in any of the pre-trial hearings conducted by the Senate, amid her alleged involvement in questionable and corrupt activities involving the use of confidential funds of her office, and during her stint as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).
He emphasized that there is “strong evidence” to convict the VP, citing the four articles of impeachment to be charged against her, which include charges of misusing confidential funds, bribery, unexplained wealth, and death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a statement released noon on Monday, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed that the vice president will not be attending the trial, saying that she has the “right to be represented by counsel, and the decision to personally testify is a matter of legal strategy and constitutional rights.”
“The burden remains on the prosecution to prove its case. Choosing to appear through counsel rather than testify personally does not diminish accountability or imply a lack of transparency,” the statement reads.
If Duterte is removed from her post, the Senate and the House of Representatives will nominate a replacement.
Cobbie Jan Canda, Southern Mindanao chairperson of the Kabataan Partylist, told MindaNews that they do not have anyone eyed yet to replace Duterte, but said if they would endorse someone, it would be from the Makabayan Bloc.
“Kung meron tayong iniindorso, ‘yun talagang tunay na may napatunayan, may history na consistent ang kaniyang prinsipyo, which is ang mga nanggaling talaga sa Makabayan bloc,” he said.
Sissay, however, emphasized that whoever would be placed in Duterte’s post if she is removed from office is the “least of their concerns.”
“Gina-acknowledge namo nga korap ang sistema. Halos pare-pareho ang opisyales sa gobyerno nga naglingkod” (We acknowledge that the system is corrupt. Almost all the government officials in position are the same), he said. (Razl EJ Teman / MindaNews)
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