Sara Duterte: Is impeachment next?

Never a dull day in Philippine politics—not even on weekends! Well, it was not exactly our local version of the “Jan. 6 attack” on Congress, but it was as, if not more, dramatic. True to form, Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly ignored all basic protocols when after visiting her detained chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, she chose to stay well beyond the permitted hours in the office of her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, in clear defiance of the sergeant at arms warnings. In response to her brazen move, the congressional leadership warned, “The House of Representatives is not anyone’s personal space.”

Soon, the situation dramatically escalated when the Vice President went on a rant marathon, culminating in her direct and personal attacks against not only the congressional leadership but also the First Family. Vehemently denying any wrongdoing, she accused First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos of complicity, if not deliberate entrapment, when discussing the controversial disbursement of funds during her tenure at the Department of Education.

As if that weren’t dramatic enough, she did something that even her notoriously foul-mouthed father would have shunned. “Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill [President Marcos], [First Lady] Liza [Araneta-Marcos], and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” she warned, without any hint of irony or humor. Just to make sure she drove home her point, VP Duterte made it clear that she told her contracted assassin to “not stop until you kill them [all] and he said yes.”

Had this been Rodrigo Duterte, he would have cracked a joke right after to defuse tensions and, crucially, create an element of plausible deniability. But she didn’t. Worse, she had made a similar threat earlier this year when she shared her supposed fantasy of beheading the Commander in Chief, also without any hint of irony. As usual, she later walked back her earlier statement, but the damage was done.

Malacañang immediately responded by clarifying that it treats her “clear and unequivocal statement [as an] active threat … [that] must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms.”

Quite poignantly, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, underscored the need for national unity and reiterated the armed forces’ “loyal[ty] to the Constitution and chain of command.”

So, dear reader, what comes next? Certainly, the Vice President has added additional momentum to earlier impeachment plans against her. Filled with fence-sitters and Duterte loyalists, however, it’s unlikely that the Senate will produce sufficient numbers to operationalize the articles of impeachment. While a few senators have skin in the game, including huge campaign donations and support to VP Duterte back in 2022, others are understandably worried about electoral backlash in Mindanao. This explains why the once-respected Senate has been largely timid in dealing with Duterte antics and the former administration’s catastrophic human rights legacy. Senate President Francis ”Chiz” Escudero mildly criticized the Vice President’s latest outbursts, but he seemed broadly sympathetic by simply counselling professional help “if she is struggling” so VP Duterte can effectively fulfill her duties.

Another option would be to file appropriate criminal charges against the Vice President since she does not enjoy full immunity. As current Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra clarified during his tenure as Duterte’s justice secretary: “The Constitution does not grant the vice president immunity from suit … the vice president has to face the charges even during [his/her] tenure.” If the vice president is found guilty of a crime, the imposable penalty may not lead to her removal from office, but it “may include disqualification from holding any public office in the future,” Guevarra added. But even this option has its demerits, since court cases in the Philippines, especially when extremely high-stakes and involving prominent figures, can take forever.

Nevertheless, if the Marcos administration manages to unearth credible evidence of seditious activities and/or robust assassination plots, then national security considerations could seamlessly overcome any political roadblock to accountability. The battle lines have been drawn. Mr. Marcos will either have to respond decisively to repeated and direct threats from his former allies, or risk facing the music once he steps down from office. As ancient Romans knew: Timidity invites aggression, while decisiveness protects the republic.

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richard heydarian