The ongoing impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte serves more than just seeking accountability for her alleged crimes, it is also meant to derail her potential presidency in the upcoming national elections, a lawmaker said.

While acknowledging that there were a lot of questions that Duterte had left unanswered throughout her term, Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Eli San Fernando stated that the notion that the administration was attempting to impeach her because she was the crowd favorite to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Let’s not fool ourselves. We know that the current administration wants to halt Vice President Sara on her campaign towards the presidency. Let’s admit it. Surveys show that she is the strongest contender for the 2028 presidential elections,” San Fernando said during the DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk program.

The solon further stated that the primary reason that the administration would want to seek her dismissal was because they themselves had no strong candidate that could compete with Duterte.

“The administration has no one. Their only options are either to field a strong candidate to face VP Sara or do whatever they can to stop VP Sara,” he explained.

Based on a recent survey concerning the preference of Filipinos for the next President, Duterte continued to top the polls, beating out officials that were floated as possible opposition candidates such as Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo and Senator Raffy Tulfo.

Notably, even with their ranking in the surveys, neither Robredo or Tulfo have expressed any interest in pursuing the national post.

Accountability in use of public funds

On Wednesday, 29 July, the House Prosecution Panel started their presentation on Article I of the impeachment concerning the Vice President’s alleged misuse of confidential funds under her office and during her time as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

For San Fernando, the topic was an important matter that had to be resolved, stressing that the millions in funds that were seemingly used for purposes that were not in accordance with the interest of the public was a troubling issue for the general public.

The lawmaker mentioned that the public funds that were lost in the matter could have been used for programs that could have had a positive impact on the public.

“Every peso that was lost, not only from Vice President Sara Duterte, but every peso that was lost meant that workers could have sent their children to school without worrying about tuition fees…every peso lost meant that a child, a spouse, a relative could have been hospitalized,” he expressed.

Even with the need for answers, San Fernando said that the harsh reality for a majority of Filipinos was that they had no more time to actually meddle and care about politics because they were too busy working to provide for their families on just a minimum wage.

He underscored that it was evident that the discussions into the impeachment were “detached” from the lives of the public.

“If the government or even if our politicians like people to participate in issues such as impeachment, then let us make the proceedings, the processes easier to participate for the public,” he said.

“That means addressing also equally important issues of wages, of food, of social services for the workers and ordinary Filipino,” he added.