Absence: Strategy or avoidance?

Vice President Sara Duterte will again skip the House Committee on Justice hearing on the impeachment complaint against her, standing by a position her camp calls strategic.

Her spokesperson, Atty. Michael Poa, insists she will answer only in the Senate, the “proper forum” for an impeachment.

“Yes, because that has always been our position,” Poa said.

But the accusations building in the House are not minor.

Lawmakers have cited possible violations of the Constitution and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act over alleged discrepancies in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. Records presented at the hearings point to billions in transactions flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council, far exceeding her declared assets.

There are also allegations tied to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, with officials noting patterns of transactions that could suggest attempts to obscure the origin of the funds. Separate audit reports have ordered the return of hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds.

Duterte has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that her assets were properly declared.

Still, the choice not to appear leaves these claims largely unanswered in the very forum where they are being laid out.

This is a political gamble. By skipping the House, Duterte avoids immediate scrutiny but allows allegations of unexplained wealth, fund misuse and possible money laundering to dominate the narrative unchecked.

In an impeachment, silence is not neutral. It fills the room — and often, it speaks louder than any defense.

— Jason Mago

Forget impeachment

No matter how explosive the accusations, no matter how many times Sonny Trillanes parks himself in a hearing room — the only thing that matters are the numbers. The Senate votes.

Senators are political animals. Survival is their religion. They ally with whomever they think the masa will follow come election time. Conviction has nothing to do with it. Neither does justice. It is pure naked political self-preservation.

That is why they will not impeach Sara Duterte. They don’t have the numbers. They never did.

So what is all this then? The hearings, the live streams, the furrowed brows and dramatic arguments?

Every “explosive” hearing, every live-streamed grandstanding session by righteous-looking representatives and senators positioning for 2028 — all of it for votes. Every pointed question, every revelation is a campaign ad in disguise.

But unknowingly, or perhaps very knowingly, they are feeding one machine: the Ombudsman.

The real Plan B was never the Senate. It was always Ombudsman Boying. Graft. Plunder. Malversation. Cases that will bar Sara from running entirely.

No impeachment needed. Just a conviction, or even a strong enough case, before election day.

The hearings are theater. The Sandiganbayan is the endgame.

— Carl Magadia