MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s camp has raised serious doubts over the impartiality and credibility of the Senate impeachment court, warning that a conviction could face questions of legitimacy amid allegations of political pressure, constitutional violations and denial of due process.
Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., spokesperson for Duterte-Carpio, said Thursday that discussions about who might replace the Vice President were premature and diverted public attention from fundamental legal questions surrounding the impeachment proceedings.
Panelo questioned whether senators facing or reportedly threatened with plunder and other criminal complaints could independently and fairly decide Duterte-Carpio’s fate.
He also challenged the constitutionality of the voting threshold for conviction and alleged that the Vice President had been deprived of her right to due process.
“These issues raise grave doubts as to whether a conviction by the Senate impeachment court, and any consequent attempt to install a replacement, would rest on any solid legal and moral foundation,” he said.
Citing a Social Weather Stations survey conducted from September 21 to 27, Panelo said public confidence in the impeachment court remained weak, with only 28 percent of Filipinos expressing trust in its ability to deliver a fair verdict.
The survey placed the court’s net trust rating at negative seven percent.
Panelo also criticized the Senate majority’s handling of the prosecution’s withdrawal of certain impeachment articles, arguing that the proceedings had squandered government resources and taxpayers’ money.
He maintained that Duterte-Carpio had been denied a fair opportunity to respond to Articles I and IV of the impeachment complaint.
The Vice President’s camp further accused the administration and its political allies of allowing impeachment-related maneuvering to overshadow urgent national concerns.
Panelo cited rising inflation, threats to food security from the worsening Super El Niño, economic growth slowing to 2.3 percent—its weakest since the pandemic—and the peso’s depreciation to record lows.
“The impeachment has only made clear how this administration and its allies prioritize political maneuvering over the issues that matter most to ordinary Filipinos: putting food on the table, keeping the economy afloat, and securing the nation’s future'” Panelo said.
The controversy has also fueled speculation over who could succeed Duterte-Carpio should the Senate convict and remove her from office.
However, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro earlier maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had neither discussed nor considered appointing a replacement.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano urged fellow senators to reject any offer to assume the vice presidency in the event of Duterte-Carpio’s conviction.
Senator Francis Escudero likewise ruled out accepting the position, citing a possible conflict of interest arising from his participation as a senator-judge in the impeachment proceedings.
Under the Constitution, a vacancy in the vice presidency allows the President to nominate a replacement from among members of Congress, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of all members of both the Senate and House of Representatives, voting separately.
For Duterte-Carpio’s camp, however, the immediate question is not who would succeed the Vice President, but whether the impeachment court can deliver a verdict free from political influence and consistent with constitutional guarantees./PN
