The VP showed up–just not for the trial

Aiza Albaracin, Gweneth Pablo

Unfortunately, the Vice President cannot attend her own impeachment. This is due to the following commitments: fiestas, tree planting, and some other public appearances. Apparently, these are more important than facing the plenary and defending herself from the four articles of impeachment filed against her. If only constitutional accountability could be penciled in between ribbon-cuttings. 

Absurd as it sounds, the contrast reflects a troubling reality. 

Impeachment is among the Constitution’s most consequential accountability mechanisms, serious enough to suspend the Senate’s regular legislative business. Sara Duterte marks the third official to be tried in the Upper House through impeachment. As the trial commenced on July 6, 2026, Duterte has yet to appear at her own hearing to defend herself and confront the evidence presented against her by the prosecution. The last time she was seen within the Senate walls was during the second day of the trial, when she delivered a famous line from the 1875 poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley before meeting with her legal team, leaving with a smirk on her face. 

It seems as if she’s everywhere except where she is supposed to be. 

On the third day of the hearing, July 8, she was seen attending the celebration of the 18th Bigaan Day and the 65th Patronal Fiesta of the Mother of Perpetual Help in Barangay Bigaan, Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur—planting trees and giving public speeches. One could only wonder how an impeachment trial managed to become the least urgent item on her calendar. Perhaps that is the performance, carrying on so seamlessly that the extraordinary begins to look ordinary. 

A week in, and Duterte has already practiced the art of performative normalcy—or displays of normalcy that are made or done for show. The steps are simple: step one, give the media enough exposure—wearing tight smiles and being careful not to address anything about your impeachment; then step two, attend as many public gatherings as you want to make it seem like nothing grave is happening—acting all cool as if the trial does not possibly end in your conviction. 

Her performance suggests impeachment is just another item on her to-do list—one that is constantly being transferred to another day as if it holds no significance. However, constitutionally, it is anything but ordinary. 

Public officials—especially those holding higher office—must be accountable and serve the people with utmost responsibility. If this duty cannot be fulfilled anymore, impeachment is a way to remove that official from office should they be found guilty of the cases against them—all while ensuring due process is served. And judging from her political and legal background, Duterte should not be unaware of the weight the impeachment trial holds. Yet she treats it as if the trial disrupts her daily routine when it should be her daily routine that yields to the demands of constitutional accountability. 

When ceremonial duties remain uninterrupted amidst one of the biggest trials in the country, it makes accountability seem less urgent—at least in the eyes of the public. Moreover, when public attention is filled with ceremonies and photo opportunities, the conversation naturally shifts away from the constitutional questions at the center of the impeachment. 

Exposure breeds attention; Sara knows very much of that. When she shows up to the court, the stacked complaints toward her would even be layered because there will be more time and opportunity for the media and the mass to decode her actions. Thus, showing up except in the premises of the court serves not only as an act of defiance, but also a portrayal of her choosing to fall in a safety net. This is no longer a new game for her, she knows whereabouts and is confident of being acquitted—don’t miss on whoever holds a seat on the Senate.

Growing up under the authority of an “iron-fisted” father, Inday is no longer a stranger to how tactics unfold in politics. She knows her way around like it’s a familial venture to get into. Whilst the people calling for her to appear at the court continuously reverberate, she continues to participate in various other activities instead. 

We are not mere foolish fanatics who can easily be deceived into a rabbit hole she dug. 

It is purely an enactment of buffoonery to watch her performance and give it a hundred, as behind the environmental deeds she tries to do are also roots of realities on why the Philippines fumbled to elect her. Voters expected cultivation and nurturing, yet decay and rot are only being gathered under her term. 

Her tactics may have worked the way she wanted before–issues may have been patched up, discussions may have been covered, but this “planting” tactic worked otherwise. It is incredible to think that she could have woken up from a slumber amidst the impeachment trials pressing anywhere and just said, “It’s a great time to join a planting activity today”; certainly, realities don’t work that way, especially when there are far more crucial matters to attend to, such as the impeachment trials. However, one could simply think in this particular way when you are avoiding or even escaping from something. 

Additionally, when she decided to attend the said activities instead of appearing at the court, it only emphasizes how shallowly she views the law and how deeply she is indebted to it. 

For a fact, if she is as pure as the driven snow, she does not have to dodge it or even try to get away from it for it does not convict those who did not violate; but of course it is a different story when one holds a reason to be afraid from its grip. 

Even if Sara attempts to turn away from the trials through attending every festival in the country or planting thousands of plants across the nation, it will never be enough to divert our attention because the impeachment trials are crucial for us. She must show up just as much as she had the courage to handle the funds the way she did, which led her towards these allegations. And while the Senate focuses on the impeachment, constantly ignored by Sara, legislative proceedings are also interrupted. Proposed bills are stalled, and hearings on important issues are suspended indefinitely–affecting the Filipinos more than anyone else. 

Respectfully, she can go through the bloodbath and bludgeoning alone, the Philippines does not have to face more issues not further scrutinized because of the discontinued trials stemming from her failure to show up.

Being unbowed does not equate to ignoring the hearings through attending unrelated endeavors; being unbowed does not equate to quoting lines out of nowhere; for being unbowed means having the bravery to show up and address the matters to be discussed; being unbowed means being free from strategizing the very people whom you vowed to serve with transparency—and until Sara fails to use and interpret being “unbowed” the right way, she is always meant to be bloodied from the bloodbath she started long before the court echoes her name.