ILOILO CITY — Independent Senate bets Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino vowed to be fair judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should they be elected back to the Senate in the coming 2025 midterm elections.
Pangilinan and Aquino made the response in light of the pronouncement of Senate bet and former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ally, Raul Lambino, that the Senate will not give a fair trial to the Vice President because all of them have something to gain if the Vice President is perpetually disqualified from public office in the event of her conviction.
Former Senator Frank Drilon calls on the public to vote for ex-Senators Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan in Eleksyon 2025, adds “if there are people who are competent to serve in the Senate, it is Kiko and Bam” @gmanews pic.twitter.com/I7MC33G2jG
— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) March 6, 2025
“As senator-judges, and I’ve been through an impeachment. We will just have to look at the evidence. I’m a lawyer. We will have to look at both sides, and whether [there is] fairness and there is justice in the process,” Pangilinan said at a press conference ahead of a volunteer rally here to be graced by former Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Risa Hontiveros.
“Any other way of doing it will harm the institution. And that’s why, if you want to uphold justice and defend justice, then you must exercise justice and fairness,” Pangilinan, who battled Duterte in the 2022 vice presidential race, added.
Aquino, for his part, said he and Pangilinan are not prejudiced against the Vice President at this point.
“We will do our duty and we will judge based on the evidence and based on the rule of law. The Senate President has said that this could start in July and by that time, if we win, we will be one of the senator judges, and we have to do our duty and we should not succumb to any pressure and sell out our vote,” Aquino added.
Further, Aquino said that the impeachment of the Vice President is a huge concern for the voters as much as job creation and provision of social services.
“Of course, mahalaga po yung impeachment. Apektado ang buong Pilipinas diyan, siyempre. Pero kami po dito, nakafocus kami sa pangangailangan ng tao. At sa totoo lang, maraming hinahanap yung mga kababayan natin.
“Hinahanap nila iyong tulong sa kanilang negosyo, tulong makahanap ng trabaho, tulong sa kalusugan, tulong sa edukasyon,” Aquino said when asked to expound on his previous statement that the impeachment is just an issue between politicians.
(The impeachment trial of the Vice President is an important matter, of course. But we are focused on what the voters need. And the voters are looking for government aid for their small businesses, their healthcare expenses, and additional funding for education.)
“So, yes, of course, malaking bagay ang impeachment. Pero ang kababayan po natin, marami rin ibang hinahanap din,” Aquino added.
(Yes, the impeachment is an important issue, but our fellow Filipinos regard a lot of things with just as much importance.)
Former Senate President Frank Drilon, for his part, said a fair impeachment trial can only happen after the 2025 elections.
“Talo ang [taumbayan] ‘pag ang trial ay mangyayari bago maghalalan. [Ang] dahilan po ang desisyon ng impeachment court bago maghalalan does not necessarily reflect the evidence presented, but the political pressure and consideration that goes with the decision that each Senator judge will make,” Drilon, who has served as a senator-judge during the impeachment of then-President Joseph Estrada and then-Chief Justice Renato Corona, said.
(The public will be on the losing end if we hold the impeachment trial before the elections because the verdict won’t reflect the evidence presented.)
“The impeachment trial and the decision [of the Senate impeachment court] should take place after the election,” Drilon added.
The House impeached the Vice President last February 5, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption and other high crimes based on the following seven Articles of Impeachment:
conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;
- malversation of P612.5 Million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
- bribery and corruption in the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure by handing out cash to former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Procurement Head), Bids and Awards Committee Member Resty Osias, DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan and Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda;
- unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth where her wealth increased by four times from 2007 from 2017;
- involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
- destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder efforts, which include: boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself “designated survivor,” leading rallies calling for Marcos’ resignation, obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas, threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez, among others;
- the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land
There were over 215 House members who signed off on the impeachment complaint, more than the constitutionally-required one third of the House members needed to send the complaint straight to the Senate for the conduct of the impeachment trial, bypassing committee-level deliberations in the House.
Senate President Francis Escudero has been adamant of starting the impeachment trial of the Vice President on July 30, or during the following 20th Congress, as doing otherwise could subject the Senate’s actions to legal questions before the Supreme Court.
Escudero, however, said they will start the impeachment trial if the Supreme Court compels them to.
Duterte, meanwhile, has filed a petition with the Supreme Court, challenging the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint against her. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online’s Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online’s Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
