Resignation, ratings won’t halt impeach trial

Amid persistent rumors that Vice President Sara Duterte is considering resigning as the heat of the impeachment trial becomes unbearable, a member of the House prosecution panel said the proceedings will continue even if Duterte quits.

Bicol Saro Representative and House prosecution panel member Terry Ridon said the “view of some of our colleagues in the prosecution panel is that even if the Vice President resigns, we believe the trial should continue.”

In a news forum, Ridon said it would be up to Duterte to decide her fate.

“We believe the trial should continue because the issue here is not only removal from office. What is also at stake is the perpetual disqualification from holding public office,” Ridon said.

“So, we will leave it, of course, to the Senate impeachment court, in that event, to decide whether the trial should continue or not,” the congressman added.

High ratings notwithstanding

Ridon urged the public to stop saying the impeachment trial should no longer proceed simply because the Vice President continues to receive high satisfaction and approval ratings.

“That propaganda being circulated should be destroyed, that just because the satisfaction and approval ratings [of the Vice President] are high, we should no longer proceed with the impeachment trial,” he said.

Duterte recently garnered a 58-percent satisfaction rating from 1,200 Filipinos polled nationwide in a Social Weather Stations survey. Likewise, the Vice President received a 56-percent approval rating from 2,400 participants in a June 2026 Pulse Asia survey.

Meanwhile, the National Momentum Survey released on 23 June revealed that only 13 percent of Filipinos watched the impeachment trial, while 55 percent only heard about developments in the trial of the Vice President in the Senate.