THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the Senate to proceed with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and decide the case based on “evidence” and the “demands of righteousness and justice.”
This comes after the House of Representatives moved to impeach Duterte for the second time, with a total of 257 lawmakers voting to indict the vice president.
As the articles of impeachment are transmitted to the Senate, the CBCP said the upper chamber now carries the responsibility of convening as an impeachment court “without delay.”
“We appeal to the Members of the Senate to abide by what the Constitution directs: to proceed with the trial and to decide the case against the vice president by summoning witnesses, hearing testimony, and voting according to the evidence and, above all, the demands of righteousness and justice,” the CBCP said in a statement.
Meanwhile, an online campaign calling for Duterte’s impeachment gathered 5.8 million signatures over a period of three months.
The “Impeach Sara Duterte” petition website showed up on social media days before the House of Representatives voted to impeach the vice president.
It had 5.8 million signatures as of 7 p.m. on May 12.
The Manila Times cannot independently verify if these signatures were signed by real people, though according to the website, it captures the “IP address and digital fingerprint as part of the signature validation process.”
“All signatures are vetted and performed by an actual human being,” the website said.
According to the website, the signature campaign urges Duterte to “face the impeachment process with due process, evidence, and full accountability.”
“Let her explain. Let her clean her name before the people, the Senate, and the Constitution,” the website said.
The website claims that signing the campaign does not deny her rights, but demands the “proper constitutional forum where truth can be tested, evidence can be examined, and the public can finally hear clear answers instead of political noise.” The campaign said that they are expecting “courage, transparency, and constitutional responsibility from those who govern in our name.” The campaign emphasized that they do not declare guilt on the vice president, stressing that “guilt or innocence must be tested through evidence and lawful proceedings.”
Also on Tuesday, several groups warned that going back to the historic EDSA would be a quick option if the Senate now under the leadership of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano would not immediately convene to start Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The Akbayan Party and Magdalo said in a press conference that the new Senate leadership “must convene the impeachment court forthwith.” Francis Dee, a political analyst and grandson of ex-senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and former president Corazon Aquino, said that if the Senate is serious in its mandate and the senators’ obligations to the Filipino people, its members should not dilly-dally in convening it as an impeachment court.
“Although most people knew very well that the sudden change in Senate leadership is tied to the impeachment of the vice president, they (senators) should prove them wrong by convening an impeachment court and let her face it and prove also that the allegations against her were baseless,” Dee said.
At the same time, Dee said the Cayetano-led Senate must show that it is serious as far as justice and defending the rights of Filipinos are concerned by surrendering Sen. Ronald dela Rosa to the proper authorities.
Meanwhile, the running priest, Fr. Robert Reyes — convenor of the Clergy for Good Governance — described the 13 senators as the modern traitors and judases.
Reyes was referring to the senators who initiated Monday’s “coup,” which resulted in the ouster of Sen. Vicente Sotto III as Senate president, and his replacement by Cayetano.
He also hailed the nine senators including Sens. Panfilo Lacson and Risa Hontiveros who stood by their principles to push for the impeachment trial to hold Duterte accountable, but they were overwhelmed by Cayetano and the other 12 senators.
“The 13 of you will go down in the history as traitors but there is still a chance to change your mind, listen to God, don’t listen to anyone, don’t listen to Sara and let the process continue,” Reyes said.
The groups said they were ready to go back to the streets if the Cayetano-led Senate would only act according to their political interests instead of listening to the clamor Filipino people “who want Duterte to face impeachment trial” and dela Rosa brought to the International Criminal Court.
