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As the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte stalls, legal experts urge President Ferdinand Marcos to step up to push for accountability
MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos stand to lose the most if the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte fails to move forward, legal experts said.
In a Rappler community chat at the Justice and Crime chat room on Friday, July 25, legal experts raised concerns over stalled accountability and growing public distrust ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the 20th Congress convening on Monday, July 28.
The impeachment articles were remanded by the Senate to the House over constitutional concerns, and the Supreme Court (SC) halted the trial on Friday, citing violations of the one-year bar rule.
While Duterte’s defense team welcomed the ruling, calling it a unanimous decision that “upheld the rule of law,” Anthony Lawrence Borja and Ruth Angelie Cruz of De La Salle University, Nicolene Arcaina of Ateneo Human Rights Center, and Josiah Quising of Project Gunita sounded the alarm on what blocking the trial could mean for accountability and democracy, even before the ruling came out.
What’s at stake now?
Duterte is accused of mishandling hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds and has refused to explain how the funds were spent, an issue, Quising said, the vice president must be held accountable for.
This is why Arcaina believes the impeachment trial is crucial, saying the country’s system of checks and balances and public funds are at stake.
Meanwhile, Borja warned such delays risk public distrust in incumbent institutions. In extreme cases, he said, delays could also fuel more radical responses, including mass movements.
As delays drag on, experts warned it could set a dangerous example, one that allows public officials to evade accountability.
Quising said blocking the impeachment is a form of betrayal that could weaken the constitutional safeguard designed to hold public officials accountable. He called on both the Senate and the SC to respect the Constitution.
When asked if Duterte would emerge stronger if the impeachment trial is shelved, Arcaina said it’s highly possible. But she added that if the trial turns out to be politically staged, it would expose the weakness of the institutions more than prove Duterte’s innocence.
Caught in the crossfire
The Marcos and Duterte camps have grown more divided, revealing cracks in their previously united political alliance.
As accountability becomes less prioritized, the impeachment will remain a battle between political factions, says Dr. Borja.
Amid the rivalry, Dr. Cruz asked: “Paano naman ang Pilipinas? (What about the Philippines?)”
She added that while elected officials are busy with their political battles, ordinary Filipinos are caught in the crossfire, struggling to survive.
As the political divide deepens and the impeachment faces delays, the legal experts agree on one thing: the Filipino people will suffer the most.
Echoing this concern, Rappler app user Eriberto noted that the poor and middle class would be hit hardest. Cruz agreed, adding that delays will leave even less for those at the bottom and will make it harder for the country to recover economically and politically.
Borja, meanwhile, described the delay as an example of the country’s long-standing accountability deficit, one more case to be added to the thousands already dismissed.
Arcaina was even more blunt: if the impeachment is shelved, the Filipino people will be shortchanged once again, with only the political actors for 2028 standing to benefit.
With accountability sidelined, experts say the burden now falls on civil society and government institutions to act.
Arcaina emphasized that all constitutional bodies, civil society, media, activists, and universities must work together to demand accountability from the vice president and government institutions alike.
Meanwhile, Quising urged mainstream and alternative media, and even vloggers, to remind the public that the Dutertes are not victims, but the families of drug war casualties, activists, journalists, and lawyers who suffered under the Duterte administration.
He also urged the Commission on Human Rights to be vocal in holding the government accountable.
But while the media and advocates play a role, Atty. Quising emphasized that the person who must step up most is the President.
“He can’t keep on pretending that he’s neutral,” he said. “He also needs to do a better job if he wants to survive.”
With the impeachment trial halted, what should our leaders do to uphold accountability? Download the Rappler app for free on the Play Store or App Store and share your thoughts in the Philippine politics chat room. – Rappler.com
