ASEANEWS HEADLINE-COURTS & LAW | MANILA: Mass protests call for VP impeachment

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MANILA, Philippines — Thousands gathered yesterday at the EDSA People Power Monument and EDSA Shrine in Quezon City and at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to press for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Clad in white shirts, members of the Magdalo group, Akbayan and allied organizations spearheaded the mass gathering in the morning at the EDSA People Power Monument, while thousands of other participants spilled over to White Plains Avenue and EDSA, according to Col. Melecio Buslig Jr., Quezon City Police District director. Up to 458 police officers from the QCPD provided area and route security.

Carrying placards calling for Duterte’s removal, the protesters criticized the leadership of the House of Representatives for not acting on the impeachment complaints.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, who endorsed the first impeachment complaint filed in December 2024, criticized the House leadership for failing to take action on the move to impeach Duterte.

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STRONG PUSH Protesters carry hundreds of placards to demonstrate their strong push to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte during a rally at the Edsa People Power Monument in Quezon City on Friday. —LYN RILLON

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“Anong petsa na? (What date is it already?) January is ending and still, Congress has not acted on the impeachment complaints. Will we allow ourselves to be intimidated by Sara and her flimsy excuses?” Cendaña said.

He stressed the urgency of impeachment proceedings, warning that continued inaction would only further embolden the Vice President to evade accountability.

“The time has come to take decisive action. Every day she remains in office, we allow corruption to thrive in our government,” he added. He said lawmakers should prioritize public good over their political interests.

“Our moral and national obligation must come first, not fear of losing votes in the next election. We have a constitutional duty to remove abusive officials from power,” he pointed out.

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The rally, themed “A Gathering for Accountability: Impeach Sara!” began with a mass officiated by Fr. Bong Sarabia and Fr. Joel Saballa.

Other groups present included Tindig Pilipinas, Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list, EveryWoman, August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM), SIKLAB, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Kalipunan, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP), ASAP and Akbayan Youth.

Akbayan party-list first nominee Chel Diokno said yesterday’s gathering was a “sign of rising public demand for accountability ahead of the midterm elections.”

“The Filipino people are making their voices heard – corruption and abuse of power will not be tolerated. The push for Sara Duterte’s impeachment and greater transparency is gaining ground, and we must ensure justice prevails,” Diokno said.

 

Good governance

He clarified that the movement is not about political rivalries but about justice and good governance.

“Filipinos have no interest in dynastic wars. What we demand is justice. Those who plunder public funds and betray the people’s trust must be held accountable, no matter their last name or political affiliation,” he said.

Diokno warned that allowing impunity to persist would have long-term consequences, stressing that voters will remember in 2025 who stood for accountability and who did not.

“This is not just about Vice President Sara. It is about the kind of leadership we want for our country,” he said.

Eugene Louie Gonzales, a former military officer and a first nominee of the Magdalo party-list, urged lawmakers to act immediately on the impeachment cases against Duterte.

With time running out as Congress is set to adjourn next week ahead of the campaign period for the midterm elections, Gonzales warned of dire consequences for the country should Duterte escape impeachment.

Gonzales said Duterte poses a threat to the government and the Filipino people for being corrupt and incompetent, reminding the public of her refusal to explain how she wasted P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days.

“And she has these unwanted traits that make her unfit for a high position in the Philippines,” Gonzales told reporters in Filipino.

Gonzales, who was among the Magdalo officers who took part in the Oakwood mutiny during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, stressed the importance of having Duterte impeached so she would be disqualified from holding public office.

Should Duterte win the presidency in the next national election, Gonzales said the country would suffer terribly. “We survived six years of Duterte. Do you want six more years under another Duterte?”

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The administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte is being accused of committing mass murder and other human rights violations in the implementation of his so-called war on drugs.

Gonzales said Duterte is also a threat to President Marcos, noting her threat to have him killed.

“She was always violating the law and hitting the President,” he said.

The protest started with a mass before leaders of the groups delivered their speeches.

The rally caused traffic along the northbound lane of EDSA.

The demonstrators voluntarily dispersed after their program ended before noon.

Another rally by other groups calling for Duterte’s impeachment was held at the EDSA Shrine later in the afternoon.

Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, concurrent Philippine National Police spokesperson and Central Luzon police director, said around 1,000 people attended the peaceful rally.

Accountability

During the afternoon rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, militants not only called for Duterte’s impeachment but demanded accountability as well for alleged irregularities under the Marcos administration, particularly in the crafting and allocation of the national budget.

Students from universities in the city, as well as representatives of urban poor and transport groups, converged at the Liwasang Bonifacio at about 1 p.m.

Among those who spoke at the rally were actor and director Joel Lamangan, who hit the Marcos administration’s broken promise of lowering the price per kilo of rice to P20, and Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas who called on the President to grant executive clemency to Mary Jane Veloso, who was sent back to the Philippines to serve her sentence after the commuting of her death sentence in Indonesia for drugs.

Other speakers lambasted the lack of hospital services for the marginalized and the alleged inefficiency of state health insurer PhilHealth. They also scored the Marcos administration for the uncertainty facing jeepney drivers and their families with the impending phaseout of traditional jeepneys, as well as for the consistent rise in oil prices and low wages.

In addition, they appealed for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin its process of prosecuting former president Duterte for the deaths of tens of thousands in the conduct of his war on drugs.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairman Teddy Casiño, also the group’s former representative in Congress, criticized the “ayuda politics” under the Marcos administration that he said was a form of vote buying.

“The people demand an end to the pork barrel system, especially in the way that infrastructure projects and financial assistance programs (AKAP, AICS, TUPAD, medical assistance) are implemented,” he said in his statement.

Former Gabriela pary-list representative Liza Maza, for her part, called President Marcos the “major setback” in the move to have the Vice President impeached.

“President Marcos is the biggest stumbling block to the progress of the impeachment complaints against VP Sara Duterte. Let’s not forget that P612.5 million in confidential fund of the Office of the Vice President that Sara squandered including P125 million that she wasted in just 11 days,” she said.

Anti-riot policemen were deployed around Malacañang, especially near the Mendiola bridge and Ayala Bridge. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Ghio Ong, Jose Rodel Clapano