As the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte officially gets underway today, July 6, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Negros and Kabataan Partylist have launched a unified call for public vigilance, demanding absolute accountability over allegations of massive corruption and abuse of power.
Duterte and her defense team have denied all accusations, labeling the impeachment raps as “void” and a politically motivated.
“Impeachment proceedings must be guided by the Constitution and due process. The respondent has the right to be represented by counsel, and the decision to personally testify is a matter of legal strategy and constitutional rights,” Duterte said in a Facebook post on Monday.
“The burden remains on the prosecution to prove its case. Choosing to appear through counsel rather than testify personally does not diminish accountability or imply a lack of transparency. The integrity of an impeachment trial depends on adherence to the rule of law-not on whether the respondent personally takes the stand,” she said.
Noli Rosales, spokesperson for BAYAN Negros, said that pursuing the impeachment is in the best interest of the Filipino people given the gravity of the accusations, which include corruption, unexplained wealth, and betrayal of public trust.
Rosales noted that the Articles of Impeachment highlight the alleged misuse of ₱125 million in Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF), which was reportedly spent in just 11 days and disbursed to unknown individuals.
“Since 2024, Sara Duterte has avoided explaining the use of the CIF during congressional hearings. Even in the lead-up to the impeachment proceedings, she has manipulated her allies in the Senate to block and delay the process through various maneuvers,” Rosales claimed.
He added that protest slogans such as “Lakat ng Sangkot Dapat Managot (All those involve must be answerable” and “Ikulong na ‘yan, Mga Kurakot (Jail them, the thieves)” will continue to serve as a rallying cry for unity among the people.
“We must demand accountability not just from Sara Duterte, but from all public officials involved in the plunder and misuse of the people’s money,” Rosales said, adding that BAYAN will maintain a watchful eye until the impeachment proceedings conclude.
Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist Vice President for Visayas Florence Guzon echoed these sentiments, saying the start of the trial is a crucial step for the public.
“Today, on the first day of Sara Duterte’s impeachment, the people take their first step in holding her accountable for the public funds she allegedly embezzled,” Guzon said.
Guzon accused the Vice President of pocketing hundreds of millions of pesos under the controversial pseudonym “Mary Grace Piattos” for supposed intelligence operations in schools.
“What intelligence did they actually get? Nothing but typical and baseless red-tagging of progressive teachers and students,” Guzon claimed.
However, Guzon emphasized that accountability should not stop with the Vice President.
“Sara is not the only one who should be held accountable. While she obtained hundreds of millions, President Marcos Jr. has billions in confidential and intelligence funds that remain completely unaccounted for to this day,” he added.
Guzon criticized the allocation of these funds, calling it “ironic and funny” that despite multi-billion-peso intelligence budgets, state forces appear inefficient.
“It seems state forces lack actual information and are only capable of baseless red-tagging, fabricating cases, and spying on the youth and citizens fighting for their rights,” he said.
“So today, less than a year after the massive anti-corruption protests, let us continue and collectively intensify the campaign to hold accountable all those involved in widespread corruption and rotten governance—all the way to the top,” Guzon said.*
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