Vice President Sara Duterte is already preparing to face an impeachment trial before the Senate in the coming weeks. At this point, the most important thing the public can demand is to let the process take place so Duterte can have the proper venue to defend herself.
But the impeachment is unfortunately being reduced to a quarrel between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Duterte, the administration versus the opposition, pro-Sara versus anti-Sara. Remove the bickering, and it is really about having a high public official answer to serious allegations through a constitutional process.
With the protests growing among Duterte's supporters over her possible removal from office, the better response is not to stop the process but to allow it to proceed. Let the evidence be presented, let Duterte answer the charges, and let the Senate, as the impeachment court, hear the case.
Duterte has denied wrongdoing and has called the impeachment politically motivated. She should be heard. The answer to politicization is a proper trial. With evidence presented, and then judgment rendered.
Let the case proceed not because one side must win, but because the public deserves the process provided in the Constitution.
What is happening now is that the impeachment process is being labeled as purely political. Duterte supporters dismiss the allegations as persecution, while her opponents treat the filing of a case as proof of guilt. Both responses are wrong.
It cannot also be ignored that the 2028 general election is being factored into the impeachment. Duterte has already declared her run for the presidency. But it is dangerous to think that 2028 is the only force behind the impending trial.
It is not about political strategy and positioning for 2028. The trial will be a push for accountability in the face of allegations of misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, plunder, graft, and threats against President Marcos. Those are serious allegations against a high public official that must be answered in the name of accountability.
The impeachment process is tainted with politics. That cannot be avoided. But politics should not be used to bury the question people have the right to ask: Can a powerful official be made to answer?
Cebu has a stake in that answer. Not because Cebu must take sides in a Marcos-Duterte fight, and not because of preparations for the 2028 race. Public accountability matters wherever public money and public trust are involved.
And how Cebu's members of the House of Representatives will vote will be watched. They will have to explain their vote to the people they represent and explain what standard they used in voting on the complaint. Will they dismiss the case without examining the allegations? Will they speak as representatives of their constituents or as followers of political blocs? We will see.
