The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) aired concern over the Senate's delay in acting on the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a pastoral letter released on 8 July, the bishops said they were "disturbed" by the lack of progress in what they called a "constitutional demand" for the impeachment to proceed.
“We are disturbed by the delay in the Senate in executing the constitutional demand for the impeachment process of the Vice President,” the CBCP said.
They stressed that impeachment, when pursued with integrity, remains a “legitimate democratic mechanism for transparency and accountability in governance.”
The Church leaders urged Catholics to reject “moral indifference” and engage in national issues with openness and faith.
“We call our faithful to combat moral indifference, listen to all sides with openness, and foster a culture of engaged citizenship rooted in our Christian faith,” the CBCP added.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in February for "high crimes," including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against her former ally and running mate, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
In June, House impeachment spokesperson Atty. Antonio Audie Bucoy said he sees a lengthy impeachment trial of Duterte due to delays on the part of the Senate.
When asked if he expects a swift impeachment trial of the Vice President, Bucoy said, “It doesn’t look that way.”
Bucoy's statement came after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, returned the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives pending two conditions:
First, the House must certify that the impeachment complaint did not violate the one-year ban on filing, which only allows one impeachment complaint per impeachable official each year; and second, the House in the 20th Congress—which begins on 28 July—must explicitly inform the Senate that it remains willing to prosecute the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
On Tuesday, 8 July, Malacañang reminded senator-judges to refrain from displaying their biases during the impeachment trial of Duterte.
This came after Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri described the impeachment as a “witch hunt” aimed at blocking Duterte’s possible run in the 2028 presidential race.
A guilty verdict in the Senate would result in Duterte's removal from office and a lifetime ban from holding public office.
Her trial is not expected to begin until the new Senate convenes on 28 July.