In an interview on "The Not-So-Late Night Show with Jason Monteclar," Dumanjug, Cebu Mayor Efren Guntrano "Gungun" Gica stated he wants Vice President Sara Duterte tried on impeachment charges so the people can make a better choice in the 2028 presidential election than they did in 2022. Voters, Gica said, regretted their 2022 choice.
The Core Argument Against Impeachment
The interview, released Saturday, June 20, 2026, led off with a question that spooks the debate on whether VP Sara should be impeached: Should she not be tried because there is a larger crime—the multibillion-peso theft of flood control funds—whose perpetrators are not yet brought to justice? This implies that VP Sara should not be tried because President Bongbong Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, suspected masterminds of the new pork barrel looting, have not yet been indicted.
Mayor Gica dismissed this argument as "what-aboutism," a fallacy that won't work in a formal debate or court of law. In this sophistry, the crime alleged against VP Sara is deflected by the crime alleged against President Marcos Jr. and his cronies. "You want to try 'Inday' Sara for stealing and betrayal of oath? Try Bongbong Marcos and his cohorts first," the argument goes, or "Remove the VP for Sara's sins? What about the bigger sins of Bongbong?"
Why What-Aboutism Fails
Under the system provided by law and the Constitution, a House-impeached official cannot avoid Senate trial by raising the failure to impeach and try another official. VP Sara cannot argue she cannot be tried because PBBM has not yet been impeached. This would be like saying the VP cannot answer charges because her president, suspected of bigger thievery, is yet to be indicted.
What-aboutism is sophistry—a fallacy often used successfully in public speeches and writings but not in courts or governed debates. It can woo a multitude by appealing to a sense of basic fairness, but it won't stand because impeachment and trial are governed by law, congressional rules, and necessarily involve politics.
The Political War
Both sides wage a political war. The Marcoses want VP Sara disqualified for the presidential election in 2028 or, short of that, discredited by disclosures at the trial. President Marcos has used strategies within his power to achieve personal and party goals. The Dutertes want Sara to remain qualified for the next election and, as much as possible, spared from trial exposes that could lower her ratings. VP Sara and the Duterte camp have used strategies within her office and tapped a network of loyalists built across the country by her and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Balancing of Advantages
Bongbong Marcos’ camp enjoys immense superiority from the presidential office. Sara can wield only the severely limited powers of the VP. However, on her side is a huge reservoir of political goodwill and sympathy from a substantial part of the nation, built by ex-President Rodrigo Duterte during his term and his incarceration, along with VP Sara's popularity ratings over PBBM's since the 2022 campaign up to now. Somehow, there is a balancing of pluses and minuses.
