VP Duterte impeachment should be an election issue – Colmenares

Bayan Muna Chair Neri Colmenares (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should be an issue on the campaign trail leading up to the 2025 national and local elections, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares said in a statement on Friday.

The official campaign period for the midterm polls began on Tuesday, Feb. 11, less than a week after the House of Representatives impeached the vice president and transmitted the complaint to the Senate for a trial.

“Impeachment should be an issue in the election,” Colmenares said in Filipino.

“The people should know which candidates are ready to call for accountability for squandering public funds and who are those who would turn a blind eye to abuses of power,” the former Bayan Muna party-list representative added.

The Senate went on break for the midterm election season without acting on the impeachment petition sent by the House.

Colmenares renewed his call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to call for a special Senate session to convene the impeachment court.

READ: Marcos urged to call special session for Sara Duterte impeachment trial

“It’s not acceptable to delay the impeachment trial any further. The P125 million that we are talking about is the money of the people. The people have a right to know how this was spent in only 11 days,” Colmenares said, referring to Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.

According to the Bayan Muna chairperson, there will be enough time to complete a Senate trial before the 20th Congress takes its seats on June 30.

“The public prosecutors only need to focus on the strongest ground and employ only one or two acts that can easily be proved using official documents from COA [Commission on Audit] and DBM [Department of Budget and Management],” Colmenares said.

READ: VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial starts after Sona – Escudero

However, Senate President Francis Escudero said that a trial would only begin after Marcos had delivered his next State of the Nation Address (Sona) in July.