The rise in Vice President Sara Duterte's satisfaction rating in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey does not necessarily reflect public sentiment on her ongoing impeachment trial, former Surigao del Sur representative Robert Ace Barbers said on Friday.

Speaking during a press conference, Barbers said impeachment is a constitutional accountability mechanism and should not be viewed as a popularity contest.

"Accountability cannot be looked at on the basis of a popularity contest. This is a mechanism that the Constitution guarantees to ensure that the Filipino people cannot be shortchanged if and when officials, even the highest officials in the country, violate certain laws," Barbers said.

He stressed that impeachment exists as a constitutional safeguard to hold high-ranking public officials accountable for actions that betray the public trust.

House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon echoed the same view, saying survey results should not determine whether impeachment proceedings should continue.

Ridon said satisfaction surveys measure public perception of an official's performance and do not address allegations of constitutional violations or betrayal of public trust.

"Even then, it does not mean that she cannot be tried by the Senate Impeachment Court concerning the violation of the Constitution, the betrayal of public trust that she conducted in the past," Ridon said.

"Congratulations because her satisfaction ratings are high, but the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President will proceed because seeking accountability from her is the biggest issue," he added.

The officials were referring to the latest SWS survey, which showed Duterte's net satisfaction rating rising to +31, up from +29 three months earlier.

The survey was conducted before the House prosecution panel presented evidence related to Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during the impeachment trial.

The Vice President's +31 rating placed her ahead of Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian (+18), Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo (+10) and House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy (+8).

Barbers said a more meaningful measure would be a survey that directly asks the public about the impeachment proceedings.

"It would also be interesting to see the results. Maybe after the issue of the impeachment has been asked, the first question that has to be asked is whether the public are interested in seeing the impeachment, and 80 percent said that they were," he said.