Big things are happening in the Philippines right now! The Senate is getting ready to hold a very serious trial called an impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. This means she’s being accused of doing very bad things like breaking the rules of the Constitution, being corrupt, and losing the people’s trust. If found guilty, she could be removed from office!
But before the trial starts, people are already talking about whether certain senators (the people who act like judges during the trial) should be allowed to stay or should step out (or recuse themselves). This is because some senators are very close to VP Sara and have shown they support her, while others have already shown they don’t like what she’s done.
Senate President Chiz Escudero said it clearly: No one can force a senator to join or leave the trial. It’s their personal choice. He reminded everyone that this has happened before in other impeachment cases. He said it doesn’t matter if a senator likes or dislikes VP Sara — they can choose whether to stay or step back.
Some big names, like Atty. Christian Monsod (who helped write the Philippine Constitution), think Senators Bato dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino should step back from the case. Why? Because they already asked to throw out the complaint against VP Sara. That’s like saying a judge has already picked a side before the trial starts!
Others are asking Senators Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla to also leave the case because they traveled with VP Sara to Malaysia and openly support her.
But VP Sara thinks it’s unfair to remove only the senators who like her. She says that if we do that, then even senators who don’t like her — like Senator Risa Hontiveros — should be removed too!
President Escudero also reminded everyone that when the Senate acts as an impeachment court, it can make decisions freely. The Constitution gives it full power to hold the trial and vote on everything — nothing is off-limits.
Just a few days ago, the Senate voted 18-5 to send the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives. But they didn’t throw it away — they just want the House to fix some things first. VP Sara’s impeachment case began when over 200 lawmakers agreed she should be investigated.
So far, VP Sara is facing very serious charges — not just one, but many: betrayal of public trust, violating the Constitution, corruption, and other big crimes.
This story is still unfolding, and many are watching closely to see who stays in the trial, who steps out, and what happens next to Vice President Sara Duterte.
