78% of Pinoys want VP Sara Duterte to face impeachment trial —OCTA survey
Based on OCTA Research's Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey, 78% of Pinoys want Duterte to face a Senate trial or impeachment court to respond to the charges and formally clear her name.
Only 13% disagreed while 9% said they did not know the answer or have no answer.
'These findings reflect strong public support for accountability and due process in addressing the allegations against the Vice President,' OCTA said.
The non-commissioned survey was conducted from April 20 to 24 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 male and female respondents aged 18 and above.
According to OCTA, the survey has a margin of error of ±3 % at a 95% confidence level. "Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following margins of error at a 95% confidence level: ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao," OCTA said.
The House impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint.
On the same day, the Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate but the upper chamber adjourned without addressing the case.
On February 25, Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero said the processes related to Duterte's impeachment trial would start on June 2.
However, Escudero on May 29 said the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment before the Senate was moved to June 11 to prioritize the passage of the items in the administration's legislative agenda before the end of 19th Congress.
Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa recently said that he and other senators are working on their drafts of a Senate resolution seeking to dismiss the impeachment case against Duterte.
Duterte was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
The Vice President has denied the allegations. —KG, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
9 hours ago
- GMA Network
UP Law faculty members: Congress vested with prerogatives on impeachment
Individual faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law on Friday expressed "grave concern" on the developments regarding the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that Congress is empowered with "high prerogatives" on the impeachment process. Signed by over 80 legal experts as of August 1, the five-page joint statement of the UP Law faculty members warned that the Supreme Court decision which declared the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte unconstitutional has "consequences" that create an "incentive" for filing of sham complaints to trigger the one-year bar rule. "We express our conviction that Congress is constitutionally vested with high prerogatives and thus deserves the appropriate deference in its procedures and in the conduct of impeachment. At the very least, given the House's reliance on two decades of precedents and practices, any new rules should be prospective in application," the statement read. It added, "We call on our democratic institutions to act in accordance with these fundamental principles, and to foster a full public debate on the impeachment in keeping with constitutional accountability," it added. Voting 13-0-2, the SC declared the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte unconstitutional, stressing that it is barred by the one-year rule under the Constitution and that it violates her right to due process. The Supreme Court ruled that the one-year ban is reckoned from the time an impeachment complaint is dismissed or is no longer viable. The first three impeachment complaints were archived and deemed terminated or dismissed on February 5, 2025 when the House of Representatives endorsed the fourth impeachment complaint, the SC ruled. The high court said the Senate cannot acquire jurisdiction over the impeachment proceedings. However, the SC added that it is not absolving Duterte from any of the charges against her and that any subsequent impeachment complaint may be filed starting February 6, 2026. "We the undersigned individual members of the faculty of the University of the Philippines College of law, express our grave concern with the developments in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte," the statement read. "[W]e warn that these recent developments undermine impeachment as an indispensable instrument of political accountability for our highest public officials," it added. 'Permanent' change The faculty members noted that impeachments are "decided only upon the simple question" of whether or not the official should continue to be entrusted with public office. Since the consequence is not civil damages nor imprisonment but removal from public office, they said, elected representatives are the ones to decide on the outcome. Noting that the Constitution provides that the House has the "exclusive power to initiate" and that the Senate has the "sole power to try and decide" all cases of impeachment, the faculty members said they share the view of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) that "over-judicialization" of the process, meaning court-like procedures are laid down for Congress, "will permanently change impeachment's nature." They also argued that the House merely followed rules set by the Supreme Court in Francisco v. House of Representatives and Gutierrez v. Committee on Justice, which defined initiation of impeachment complaint as filing the impeachment complaint before the House and referring it to the chamber's committee on justice. "This could not be an abuse of discretion, much less a grave one," the faculty members said. Any changes should be applied moving forward, they said, and not in Duterte's impeachment case. "If the Court intended to lay out new rules for the House, then the 'reliance of the public thereto prior to their being declared unconstitutional' calls for at least a prospective application of its decision and not the nullification of the House's actions," they said. Compliance by the House Further, they said judicial review is only for cases where there is abuse, but not in the Vice President's case because the House complied with rules previously set by the high tribunal. Likewise, the UP College of Law Faculty members backed former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna, who had warned that the High Court's decision on the Duterte case contradicts the Constitution's intent to make impeachments easier to initiate. "The Duterte ruling has consequences that the parties themselves did not appear to contemplate," they said, noting that the plenary now has the power to block resolutions for impeachment. "The ruling creates an incentive for the filing of sham complaints to trigger the one-year bar rule—a political strategy once criticized by a justice as making 'a mockery of the power of impeachment.' Narrower rulings in the past have precisely avoided these unintended consequences," they said. Due process Further, the faculty members said the House did not violate the right of the Vice President to due process because the Senate impeachment court is the proper venue to defend herself as provided by the Constitution. "While Article 6, Section 21 of the Constitution requires the 'rights of persons appearing in, or affected by' legislative inquiries 'shall be respected,' no similar rule applies in Article 11, Section 3 on impeachment. Impeachment has thus never required the observance of due process that applies to administrative proceedings: the impeachment trial is itself the due process," they said. "This is not because the Constitution intended to be oppressive towards a respondent. Instead, and following congressional practice, the right to be heard of an impeachable officer is honored in the trial before the Senate," they added. Finally, the UP College of Law faculty members said that unlike in legal proceedings, the principal aim of impeachment is not to litigate a right of the impeachable officer, but to protect the public and enforce accountability. "A reading of the Constitution to further accountability requires a return to the paradigm of protecting the people and a reiteration of the principle that public office is a public trust—a sacred privilege, not a god-given right," they said. "As academics, our only client is the truth. And while the course of Vice President Duterte's impeachment has veered further away from discovering it, we write with hope that our democratic institutions will, with statesmanship and prudence, allow us, the people, to eventually find our way towards restoring accountability," they added. — Llanesca T. Panti/ VDV, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- GMA Network
SC asked to reconsider VP Sara Duterte impeachment ruling
Former Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita 'Ging' Deles, Yvonne Jereza of Magdalo Partylist, and Dr. Sylvia Estrada Claudia, convenor of Tindig Pilipinas, filed a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court on Friday, August 1, 2025, on the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. Photo by Danny Pata Some of the individuals behind the first impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its ruling declaring the articles of impeachment unconstitutional. The petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration ad cautelam. 'Naniniwala po kami na maling-mali ang naging desisyon ng ating Korte Suprema (we believe that the reasons of the SC is very wrong),' petitioners Sylvia Estrada Claudio said in an ambush interview. To recall, three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected with the alleged misuse of confidential funds. It was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over one-third of lawmakers from the House of Representatives, and was later transmitted to the Senate as the Articles of Impeachment. In its ruling, the SC declared that the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte are barred by the one-year rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution. The SC ruled that the one-year ban is reckoned from the time an impeachment complaint is dismissed or is no longer viable. It ruled that the first three complaints were deemed terminated or dismissed when the House endorsed the fourth complaint. However, Claudio said their complaint was not initiated. This was echoed by petitioner Teresita Quintos Deles, who said that the SC previously ruled that complaints are only initiated once deferred to the House Committee on Justice. 'By the ruling of the SC itself in an earlier case na sinabi na ang initiation ay kapag na defer lang sa Justice committee. Since hindi iyon nangyari, wala talagang prior initiation,' she said. (By the ruling of the SC itself in an earlier case where it was stated that initiation happens when it is merely deferred in the Justice committee. Since that did not happen, there was really no prior initiation.) The other petitioners are Akbayan Representative Percival Cendaña, Eugene Gonzales, Yvonne Jereza, Alicia Murphy, and Filomena Cinco. Claudio called on the Senate to continue the impeachment trial. 'Naniniwala din po kami na nag overstep ng kaunti ang ating SC dahil nag simula na ang Senado. At sa amin hong pananaw ay malinaw naman ho sa Konstitusyon na ang Senado ang may karapatan, at nag simula na po sila,' she said. (We also believe that our SC overstepped a bit because the Senate had already started. And in our view, it is clear in the Constitution that the Senate has the right, and they had already begun.) 'Sa atin pong mamamayan, nananawagan po kami na pwede naman pong i-criticize ang opinyon ng kahit sinong mataas na opisyal o institusyon, kasama na po ang SC,' she added. (To our fellow citizens, we are calling on you that it is okay to criticize the opinion of any high-ranking official or institution, including the SC.) — BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- GMA Network
AI use in PH classrooms must fit students' needs —solon
Some things must be considered first before artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into the classrooms, said House Basic Education and Culture Committee chairperson Roman Romulo. While AI can be an effective learning tool, Romulo said that it's important for students to develop their critical thinking. 'May advantages siya, but before we implement it fully kailangan natin pagaralan kung ano yung tamang level at kung sino yung mga estudyante na kailangan natin bigyan ng AI. Kasi mayroon ng mga pagaaral, although preliminary po yun, may lumabas na pagaaral I think from schools in Boston na sinasabi nga nila hindi naman wholesale ibigay natin yung AI sa lahat o yung technology,' he said in an interview with Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Friday. (It has its benefits, but before we roll it out completely, we need to carefully consider the appropriate level and which students truly need AI. There are already studies, though preliminary, I think from schools in Boston, that suggest we shouldn't just give AI or the technology to everyone wholesale.) 'Kasi maganda pa rin na nadedevelop yung learner o yung bata yung traditional way of learning. Nahahasa din papunta siyang critical thinking, kailangan talaga pinagiisipan niya yung bawat bagay,' Romulo added. (It's still beneficial for learners and children to develop using traditional learning methods. This also sharpens their critical thinking skills, requiring them to genuinely ponder every detail.) The latest Philippine Statistics Authority study showed that more than 1 in 5 Filipinos aged 10 to 64 have difficulty comprehending what they read—despite being able to read, write, and compute. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the basic literacy rate — the share of people who can read, write, and compute — is 93.1%, but only 70.8% are considered functionally literate, meaning they can also comprehend. In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted concerns in the education system, including literacy. 'May value talaga ang AI. Pero hindi siya pwedeng wholesale for now, one size does not fit all. Kailangan natin ma-tailor fit yung pagintroduce ng technology, pag-introduce ng AI depending po sa sitwasyon para responsible din yung paggamit ng mga developments na ito,' said Romulo. (AI truly has value. However, it can't be a wholesale solution for now; one size doesn't fit all. We need to tailor the introduction of this technology and AI depending on the situation, ensuring responsible use of these developments.) 'Pero naniniwala ako, the moment ma-full throttle at effective na ito na ginagawa ng DepEd natin, nakatutok na sa functional literacy, the computer technology will be used in the right way,' he added, referring to the Department of Education's ARAL Program which offers free tutorials and interventions to students struggling with reading, mathematics, and science. (But I believe the moment our DepEd fully and effectively implements this focus on functional literacy, computer technology will be used in the right way.) —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News
