They keep running

They keep running | Daily Tribune

That rare appearance by Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte after months of avoiding the glare of cameras only meant one thing: she had something big to say.

And deliver, she did. “I am running for president,” she declared. “Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh!”

Thank you, we have our front page story.

But it’s the story of our lives, officials facing one controversy or another need not hide from the public eye for too long. In our history, even the ones actually found guilty of lawbreaking can return to the scene, maybe run for office and win.

For example, if by some miracle the VP’s father is able to come home after enduring his time at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, he may well win by a landslide should he decide to go through a campaign and the travails of running the Philippines all over again.

Sara’s announcement comes as the threat of impeachment hangs over both her and the President’s heads. Her latest move begs the question: is it a strategy?

First of all, it would do all of us good to assume that anything done amid a crisis of controversy is a strategy. In Sara’s case, it shows in Robin Padilla expressing support for a possible Sara-Imee tandem.

While another Marcos sitting alongside the Duterte next-in-line could be the ultimate slap in the face of the warring siblings, the fact remains that a major hurdle still needs to be overcome by them all.

The power to remove the highest officials of the land lies in the hands of Congress. It is not a simple process. One does not cry foul and kick out an erring leader. This is not done anywhere in the democratic world, and not even in our islands, where errant top dogs get to bark again after a stint in the kennel.

An impeachment proceeding, according to a University of the Philippines Law primer, is “sui generis, a class of its own.” And while the process can take a long time, it assures the people that even the most powerful officials — the President, VP, justices, commissioners and Ombudsman — may be tried for “serious crimes or misconduct.”

Even as nowadays confidence in Congress and the justice system is low because of what is perceived as performative politics, this impeachment fracas offers a spark of hope for those who still believe in democracy.

The challenge lies in establishing the grounds for impeachment, which are a culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.

It begins in the House of Representatives, where a verified complaint may be filed by at least one-third of all the members. If an impeachment complaint is dismissed, it will be another year before a new complaint can be initiated. That’s another 12 months of waiting. But then, if a complaint gets through the House, it will move up to the Senate for trial.

If the trial finds the accused guilty, that official is ousted and perpetually disqualified from seeking public office.

VP Duterte, still highly popular in spite of the fracas over the OVP and Department of Education budgets, should have sent shivers through the House with her announcement. The representatives will be undertaking the initial impeachment proceedings after all, and should her case end up dismissed, even if it reaches the Senate, their positions on her impeachment would spell either a blessing or a disaster for their election dreams.