Palace brushes off ‘political persecution’ claims in VP Sara’s impeachment

Malacañang reiterated on Wednesday that the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte are not politically motivated, distancing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the administration from the ongoing controversy.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Atty. Claire Castro addressed the issue following Duterte’s remarks from an interview in The Hague, where she described the impeachment complaint as “pure political persecution and harassment” against her.

“Kung 'yan po ang kanyang opinyon, igalang po natin. Kung feeling niya po ay political persecution (If she thinks it’s political persecution, we respect her opinion),” Castro told reporters in a press briefing.

Castro emphasized that President Marcos has made it clear he will not interfere with the proceedings, saying the fate of the trial now lies solely with the Senate.

“As far as the administration is concerned, there is no political persecution targeting the Vice President,” she said.

“Ayaw po ng Pangulo na ipahid sa administrasyon ‘yung impeachment trial dahil ito po ay nasa kamay na ng mga senador (The President does not want the impeachment trial to be associated with the administration because it is now in the hands of the senators),” she added.

The impeachment complaint, filed earlier this year, accuses Duterte of allegedly misusing confidential funds during her time as concurrent Secretary of Education and making public threats against key officials, including the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Castro also responded to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which showed that 42 percent of Filipinos now oppose Duterte’s impeachment, while only 32 percent support it — a shift from December 2024, when public opinion leaned more in favor of the complaint.

“Kung ano man po ang sinasabi ng survey, ‘yan po ang sentimyento ng taong bayan. So igagalang po natin ‘yan (Whatever the survey says, that is the sentiment of the public. We respect that),” she said.

However, she acknowledged that mixed messages from separate surveys may have sown confusion.