MANILA — House prosecutors on Friday rejected the idea that Vice President Sara Duterte’s rising satisfaction rating could affect the impeachment proceedings against her, saying the case will be decided on constitutional and legal grounds rather than public approval.
Speaking before reporters, House prosecution legal spokesperson and private prosecutor Jay Tolosa Jr. said no public official facing impeachment can invoke popularity as a defense against accountability.
“This is not a popularity contest. It is a constitutional accountability mechanism,” Tolosa said.
He pointed out that the Social Weather Stations survey cited during the briefing was conducted from June 20 to 29, before the start of Duterte’s Senate trial. The poll measured public satisfaction with her performance and did not ask respondents to evaluate the impeachment evidence.
The survey showed Duterte’s net satisfaction rating improving from +29 in March to +31 in June, which SWS classified as “good.”
The prosecution panel said voters may appreciate some of the Vice President’s programs while still supporting an inquiry into allegations involving threats, confidential funds and unexplained wealth.
Tolosa cited the case of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, who underwent a Senate impeachment trial despite maintaining political support and was convicted in 2012 over issues related to his SALN disclosures.
“The Constitution gives the Senate the authority to determine whether an impeachable official committed culpable violations, graft and corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust, without making popularity a shield against accountability,”
he said.
House prosecution spokesperson and impeachment adviser Ace Barbers warned that using survey ratings as a basis for continuing or stopping an impeachment trial would effectively grant immunity to well-liked officials.
“It is not important at this stage who is popular because this is not a popularity contest or a beauty pageant,”
Barbers said.
He added that surveys should be interpreted carefully and that the public should examine the evidence presented before the Senate impeachment court before concluding.
Prosecution streamlines witnesses
On the issue of witness withdrawals, Tolosa said the prosecution’s decision to remove several proposed witnesses from Article IV was made after a detailed review of the evidence and was formally explained to the Senate impeachment court.
He said the panel considered it necessary to clarify the changes because the witness list had been included in its pretrial brief.
According to Tolosa, some witnesses were dropped because their testimony would only duplicate information already established through authenticated videos, testimony from the National Bureau of Investigation and other documentary evidence concerning Duterte’s recorded statements.
He stressed that the decision was not made for convenience but was based on whether the witnesses could still provide material evidence relevant to the impeachment case.
“We wanted to make it clear that the decision was not reached haphazardly or arbitrarily. There were valid reasons for streamlining the witnesses,” Tolosa said.
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