The Duterte clan’s political opponents see the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte as a tool to derail her bid for presidency in the 2028 elections, said a political analyst on Monday.
“All of these opponents right now, talagang nagdo-double time sila. Let’s face that, no. And itong impeachment ang isa sa nakikita nila na paraan para ma-derail si Sara. Another thing na maaari nilang gamitin is the Constitutional reform or the charter change… Or other things, they may form a formidable coalition that could match the fire power of the vice president,” Political analyst Professor Froilan Calilung said in an interview on Balansyado.
Duterte’s opponents are working “double-time” to damage her prospects in the 2028 presidential race because she is currently the people’s favorite, he said, and her opponents will lose power if she wins.
“The numbers don’t lie. The surveys are very accurate in their results right now that the early favorite really is Sara. At hindi ko nakikita ‘to na kagaya ng mga early favorites kagaya ng panahon nila Binay for example. Ito kasi mayroon talagang solid na bloke itong si VP Sara Duterte, let’s face that, sa Mindanao and parts of Visayas,” Calilung said.
“If the goal or the motive is really to derail VP Sara in order for them to still continue or at least magkaroon ng coalition na maaaring tumapat kay VP Sara, maybe they will actually be doing that kasi alam nila that VP Sara will win eventually in 2028, hindi natin alam kung saan talaga sila pupulutin,” Calilung explained.
He agreed that a number of lawmakers’ motivation may be to make anyone president but Duterte in aligning themselves with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In addition, Calilung noted that the alleged misuse of confidential funds Duterte is in hot water over is dwarfed by the impact and amount stolen solely for flood control projects, which the likes of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and his cousin, the President himself, are being linked to.
“They’re going to weaponize, in the name of accountability and justice, everything they could. Pero ‘yun nga… ‘yung ₱125 million right now is being dwarfed by the trillions of pesos funneled for the flood control. Flood control pa lang ‘yun ah, wala pa ‘yung iba pang maaaring mayroon ding mga kasangkot sa government agencies na corruption,” he said.
Lastly, he pointed out that, should Duterte be impeached, it is unlikely that her supporters begin supporting opposing lawmakers and other government figures.
“Kung sakali man na ma-impeach si Vice President Sara Duterte, ano ba ang garantiya na itong mga supporters niya ay lilipat kay Risa Hontiveros o kay Jonvic Remulla. Will it really happen? So I really don’t understand why they need to gang up on the vice president at this point,” he said.
As of Monday, February 9, a third impeachment complaint has been lodged against Duterte by a coalition of clergy members, lawyers, and other concerned individuals, led by Atty. Armando Virgil Ligutan.
