Sara Duterte's camp questions Senate majority's 'lack of outrage' over dropped articles

The spokesperson for Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday questioned the supposed silence and “lack of outrage” by the senator-judges in the majority over the decision of the House prosecution panel to withdraw three of the four impeachment articles.

Atty. Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. claimed that approximately P500 million---or P25 million per day---was used by the Senate over a span of 20 trial days for Articles I and IV. Considering other expenses, and the “wasted salaries” of members of the Congress who participated in the trial, he said the public cost for hearing the dropped articles would exceed P1 billion.

“What is equally troubling, however, is the lack of outrage by the Senate majority. Hindi ba nasayang ang oras ninyo? Hindi ba kayo nanghihinayang na nagamit sana ang panahon para tugunan ang mga kritikal na pangangailangan ng bansa? Hindi ba kayo nagagalit na nagwaldas ang prosekusyon ng perang kasing laki o mas malaki pa sa confidential funds na linustay diumano ni VP Sara, na hanggang ngayon at kailanman ay hindi nila mapapatunayan?” Panelo asked.

(Wasn’t your time wasted? Don’t you regret that the time could have been used to address the critical needs of the country? Aren’t you outraged that the prosecution wasted money as big or bigger than the confidential funds allegedly embezzled by VP Sara, which they have never been able to prove to this day?)

“Who is going to hold them accountable? A judge in a regular court would have at least given the prosecution a proper tongue lashing for wasting its time if this happened there,” he added.

Duterte’s spokesman further asked if the silence of some of the senator-judges had anything to do with the upcoming 2028 national elections.

“So why the quiet? Is it because the goal to disqualify the leading presidential candidate in 2028 justifies the means? Is it because the numbers for conviction are already locked in under the lower threshold? Is it because a longer trial risks shifting those numbers, making a faster resolution preferable? Is it because convicting the Vice President earlier may reduce the damage to Senator-Judges seeking elective posts in 2028?”

“The silence is deafening. Huwag naman kayong masyadong halata (don't be too obvious),” he continued.

'What does he want me to do?'

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, in return, asked Panelo where he got his figures that the upper chamber supposedly spent P25 million per day.

“As far as I know, the [General Appropriations Act] 2025 budget for the impeachment trial, most of which has remained unspent, only roughly P2 million was disbursed for the judges’ robes and other items, is now being used under the ‘continuing appropriations’ provision in the GAA,” Lacson said.

“I wasn’t referring to the trial, but the legislative functions of the Senate and my basis was the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses and Personnel Service for one year which I extrapolated on a per day basis,” he added.

Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, expressed that he simply wanted to make sure that his interjections during the trial are fair.

“What does he want me to do? Magwala ako? Na i-feel ko na ako 'yung pinaparinggan? (does he want me to go on a rampage and say that I feel alluded to?) I don't think so. We are a court… I can look at all of you eye to eye, sa mga questions that I raised, wala akong…everything that I have done so far, I'm very careful about it,” Villanueva said in an ambush interview.

“I wanted to make sure that it's fair. And I know that the entire country will be looking and listening and watching us. And I would still encourage them to watch us and scrutinize whatever we are doing here, because that's, of course, the beauty of democracy,” he added.

Senator Bong Go said that he could not speak on behalf of other senator-judges regarding the allegation of Duterte’s camp.

Regardless, he believes the presentation of evidence in the trial should be fair both for the prosecution and defense.

“Karapatan po ng prosecution ‘yan. Karapatan po ng korte to decide. Pero as one of the senator-judges, gusto natin makakita ng pantay o patas na laban. So, ibig sabihin, kung nakasuntok na ‘yung kabila, bigyan mo naman ng pagkakataon na lumaban naman ‘yung kabila nang patas,” Go said in an ambush interview.

(That is the right of the prosecution. It is also the court’s right to decide on that. But as one of the senator-judges, I want to see a fair fight. So, that means if one side has already landed a punch, the other side should also be given a fair chance to fight back.)

GMA News Online also reached out to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian for comment and will update this story once he responds. —VAL, GMA News