The Senate On Trial

FROM JULY 2026 onwards, the Filipino people will be watching with eagle and microscopic eyes how the Senate will be performing its mandate under the Constitution – to be impartial, objective, transparent and fair as an Impeachment Court, in the trial of VP Sara Z. Duterte, charged essentially for betrayal of public trust, violation of the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and various crimes against the Filipino people. 

The senator-judges are expected, with all honesty and integrity, to convict or acquit her, based on the evidences to be presented and explained by the congressmen-prosecutors. The Filipino people will be expecting the congressmen-prosecutors to present the various crimes committed by VP Sara Duterte while heading the Office of the Vice President and serving concurrently as Secretary/Head of the Office of the Department of Education (DepED).

VP Sara Duterte’s crimes against the Filipino people were revealed, explained and thoroughly clarified by the many resource persons and Congressmen-members of the Committee on Justice and Good Governance on TV-live-streamed for weeks and viewed by countless Filipinos. Such crimes would be articulated by the congressmen-prosecutors before the senator-judges in the Impeachment Court, and the Filipino people will expect, as a matter of course, for the senator-judges to appreciate the evidences presented with the objectivity required of honest judges, while shedding off their loyalty to their respective political affiliations. 

DYED-IN-THE-WOOL 

Still and admittedly, the Filipino people may have certain concerns about how honestly the senators will perform their duty and carry out their responsibility as senator-judges. Especially with the drama that engulfed them a week back, where an AWOL since November 2025, Sen. Bato dela Rosa, suddenly appeared to add his vote for a new Senate President (SP) in a coup for a dyed-in-the-wool Duterte loyalist, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. 

Until more than a week after the incident, serious questions have been disturbing many Filipinos of goodwill – Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, Imee Marcos, Mark Villar, Camille Villar, Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Rodante Marcoleta, Robin Padilla – known as Duterte fanatics, or have been tagged by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla as tainted with possible violations of their oath as public officials, or known publicly to have records of malfeasance. 

Also,  PCIJ reports “that 11 of the 13 DuDirty Senators have pending criminal or other cases….” – will they be guided by their conscience, or their belief in the Lord of Truth and Justice, or simply their Christian upbringing, if at all, or for once in their life, they will faithfully serve the Filipino people, shed off any personal self-interest, and fully implement their mandate “to give justice to everyone”? 

MORAL AND SACRED DUTY

Thus, on trial is the present Senate’s performance as supposedly a model government institution with integrity – in contrast with the true-blue legislative giants of the past Senates, namely, Jovito Salonga, Lorenzo Tanada, Jose W. Diokno, Benigno Aquino, Raul Manglapus, Juan Sumulong, Miriam Defensor, Ambrosio Padilla, Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo, et al. 

The Filipino people are seriously hoping and praying for the Senate as an Impeachment Court to do its moral and sacred duty to give justice to the Filipino people. It was the Filipino people’s hard-earned money in millions, or billions, that was stolen for personal use, and could have been spent to improve the country’s educational system, to uplift the learning capabilities especially of Filipino children and youth, and to improve the healthcare system for the people. 

Indeed, the Filipino people cannot tolerate any form of injustice that may be committed by a government institution, particularly when the adverse impact on society is so widespread, resulting in nationwide demoralization. And so, what?!