Renato Reyes, Jr, BAYAN President, welcomed the impeachment of VP Sara Duterte, described it a “historic first for a sitting vice-president” and called for the next logical step for the “convening of the impeachment court and for genuine accountability via conviction.”
Last January 31, thousands of Filipinos rallied at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to condemn the Marcos Jr government for its appalling failure to address rising prices, worsening poverty, widespread dishonesty and corruption, and ongoing impunity in the country, and demand accountability. They also raised the call to impeach VP Duterte on charges that included graft and corruption with the use of intelligence and confidential funds and the betrayal of public trust.
Under the theme “Kilos bayan laban sa kahirapan, korapsyon, at kawalang pananagutan”, people from all the basic sectors, from many universities and colleges, church groups, civil society groups marched in the streets with their colourful flags and banners, signs and placards, many creative forms of protest from fans, cardboard caricatures, rice sacks painted with slogans, even bags clearly declaring in print “walang laman na confidential funds”!
The breaking news came soon after. On January 5th, 215 out of 306 lawmakers of House of Representatives (HOR) voted to endorse the impeachment complaint against VP Sara Duterte, a move that has also been described by media as “historic”. The votes cast were more than the minimum requirement of the one third vote needed to impeach VP Sara Duterte.
This would not have been possible were it not for the people’s determined, sustained collective actions to protest, to be vigilant, to always push back, to not be cowed. Out in the streets, inside the halls of Congress, in the submission of impeachment complaints. Overseas Filipinos also raised their demand to impeach VP Sara Duterte, hold the Dutertes accountable, and hold Marcos Jr. to account for his neglect and abandonment of Filipino overseas workers.
This overwhelming and historic vote would not have been possible if it were not for Congresswoman France Castro who was the first to raise, unafraid, the issue of anomalous confidential funds, at a time when to ask those questions was to be bullied and harassed. Thanks to Castro and the Makabayan Bloc legislators, this expose led to the February 5th HOR vote to impeach VP Sara Duterte. Yes, even if it took two years to make this happen.
The HOR transmitted the impeachment complaint to the Senate on the same day as the historic HOR vote. The Senate then serves as the impeachment tribunal to try VP Sara Duterte, hold her accountable, and convict her.
It is now up to the Senate to follow the move of the HOR and make history with an impeachment trial leading to nothing less than a conviction. To sit on the complaint because of lack of time, session breaks, and to wait until after the May midterm elections and other reasons is to ignore the urgency and importance of the impeachment complaint and the role of the Senate. The Senate seems to have forgotten that they work in service of the people and that the people pay their salaries. The Senate seems to have forgotten that it has a constitutional mandate to act on the complaint and hold trial.
President Marcos Jr. never supported, never called for the impeachment of VP Sara Duterte. His dismissive and lame reasoning which he confirmed to the press in November 2024 was that “In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints.” He even called it a waste of time, it will “tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate” and “It will just take up all our time, and for what? For nothing, for nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino life.”
The reasoning only exposed Marcos Jr. had no presidential backbone and worse, exposed his complicity in corruption at the highest levels.
People need to remind the occupant of Malacañang that holding elected officials accountable for corruption, malversation of funds, misappropriation of funds, and extrajudicial killings is NOT A WASTE OF TIME. Perhaps the reason for this questionable presidential stand is because Marcos Jr. does not want to be exposed for his own crimes!
Migrante International made it clear that “As we support the impeachment complaints against Sara Duterte in Congress, we must also raise the alarm not only against the Dutertes, but even Marcos Jr, who also misused Php 4.56 billion on confidential and intelligence funds in 2023. The Marcoses’ splurging of the government budget is absurd to overseas Filipinos, especially as cases of human trafficking, labour exploitation, and unjust detention and death row abroad are on the rise.”
BAYAN and people’s organizations like Migrante International and its chapters overseas continue to press on with bigger mobilizations nationwide, especially for VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment, conviction, and arrest. People’s organizations continue to organize and mobilize and demand their basic and legitimate demands for living wages, land reform, health care and education, among others.
Big “people power” mobilizations in the spirit of the 1986 EDSA people power uprising that ousted the dictator Marcos, Sr. and his family out of the country will certainly mark the commemoration of February 25 People Power anniversary.
The Filipino people, including overseas Filipinos and OFWs, deserve a government that serves the people, not a government of bureaucrats that line their own pockets, not a government of dynastic families and their sycophants, and not a government of self-serving and greedy interests who disguise themselves as public servants. ###
Photo Credits: BAYAN MUNA Partylist FB page