What is at stake in the impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte

-

Today is the start of VP Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. What is at stake is not just the political future of the Vice President. This is about the type of governance that is centered upon one principle that her father had started - justice for Mindanao and the Filipino people against the interests of the elite.

This is the case because the members of Congress who impeached Sara do not represent the Filipino people. They represent the corruption in our system of politics. The irony is obvious. Those who want Sara convicted are actually acting at the behest of the mastermind of the flood control scandal. They fear a Sara Duterte presidency because they know that they will be running knowing that they have no place to hide.

There is nothing new in what the House prosecutors will present at the Senate impeachment court. The Filipino people already know what Ridon, Diokno, or Delima will say. Their witnesses are not credible. They are simply forcing a narrative that has no evidentiary value. What the prosecution is seeking is not the truth. They simply want to tarnish Sara's reputation.

Why? It is because they know that no one from among their floated candidates since 2024 has the chance of beating Sara in 2028. Not Bam. Not Risa. Not Leni. Not Tulfo.

Mindanao's fate is at stake in 2028. Mindanao will vote for Sara because she represents the Duterte brand of leadership. The former President's biggest legacy is peace in Mindanao. The former President fought the elite. He served not the oligarchs but the Filipino people.

The majority of the Filipino people understand that this struggle is not just about Sara. It is a fight for the future of this country. The adversaries of the Dutertes are simply acting together because they see former President Rodrigo Duterte as a common enemy.

But sending President Duterte to The Hague was the biggest blunder of BBM. President Duterte sacrificed himself to show that he fears no one. Not the ICC. The former President exhibits the strength of a leader whose political will generated results - Laglag Bala, Mighty Cigarettes, PAL, Maynilad and Manila Water, among others. President Duterte stood against the country's oligarchs and made them act correctly.

A Sara presidency will bode well for the peace and order situation in the country. Sara will establish stability in the Pacific region. Unlike the present administration, she will pursue real diplomacy in resolving the West Philippine Sea issue in the spirit of international cooperation that will be beneficial to the Filipino people. The unnecessary rhetoric of Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro is not helping the cause of the Filipino people. There is a need to sit on the table and discuss the West Philippine Sea with the future and the security of the region in mind.

The Filipino people knows what will happen in the trial. Mindanao has been a victim for too long that it cannot allow itself to be dragged down by the selfish interests of those pushing for Sara's conviction. But the prosecution has a bigger thing to worry about than the presentation of their case theory. They don't have the numbers. This is because the Presidency is a matter of destiny.

- Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD

Popular posts from this blog

Deconstructing the False Dilemma of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Impeachment (Part I)

-
Image
  By Francis Jeus Ibañez Why Justice in the Philippines Demands More Than Political Spectacle In recent months, a wave of calls for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte has swept through political conversations, media reports, and social platforms. With each trending hashtag and televised interview, the public is increasingly being presented with a deceptive choice: either impeach Sara Duterte or accept the death of justice in the Philippines. But this binary framing is not only misleading—it is intellectually dishonest, democratically immature, and constitutionally dangerous. What we are witnessing is not a movement for justice, but a political spectacle wrapped in the rhetoric of accountability. It is time to deconstruct this false dilemma, expose the pitfalls of such reductionist thinking, and reclaim the broader, deeper pursuit of ethical governance.  Beyond Binary Thinking: The Myth of “Impeach or Perish” Philippine society has long been vulnerable to binary nar...
Read more

Deconstructing the False Dilemma of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Impeachment (Part 2)

-
Image
  By Francis Jeus Ibañez  Justice as Ethical Governance, Not Political Theater Justice in the Philippines must be more than a punitive reaction—it must be a sustained ethical and political commitment. And in this light, Vice President Duterte represents something often absent in today’s polarized leadership landscape: constitutional restraint coupled with administrative discipline. Her track record is not mere political decoration: A legal education that informs her approach to governance Executive experience as Davao City mayor marked by firm, lawful administration A leadership style that favors rule-based action over populist theatrics This is not to say she is beyond scrutiny. No public official is. But to turn her into the central villain in a moral drama robs the public of more pressing institutional reforms and buries the real questions about how to rebuild trust in governance. If justice is to have any lasting impact, it must be seen not only in the removal of perceived...
Read more

The Davao School of Radical Democracy (Part 2)

-
Image
In 2017, the National University of Singapore asked Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc to write an op-ed for Wataru Kusaka's book Moral Politics in the Philippines which was subsequently published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.  This inspired Maboloc to write about Philippine democracy.  Maboloc wrote a proposal on the topic. Ateneo de Davao University funded Maboloc’s research entitled 'Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte." Ten papers were published from the said research which became the core of his book of the same title that came out in 2022. Kusaka wrote the Foreword of the book. Maboloc’s work won the attention of followers and critics alike. The prominent figures of this contemporary philosophical movement from the Philiippine South include Menelito Mansueto, Gerry Arambala. Benjiemen Labastin, Joezenon Purog, and Rogelio Bayod, among others. Core Philosophy As mentioned in a previous article, the Davao School seeks to provide an "alternative narrative" ...
Read more