NATION

MASADA seeks show-cause order vs judge over Sara arrest warrant

Perseus Echeminada · Sep 5, 2026, 8:05 AM

A QUEZON City court on Friday, 4 September, issued a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte over three counts of grave threats in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Bail was set at P120,000 for the three charges. The warrant comes as Duterte is also facing ongoing impeachment hearings at the Senate of the Philippines. — DAILY TRIBUNE images

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The founding chairman of the Masa Sara Duterte Alliance (MASADA) has called on the impeachment court to issue a show-cause order against the judge who issued an arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte, which he said is tantamount to obstruction of justice in the ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.

Benito Ranque, MASADA founding chairman, told the Daily Tribune that impeachment court presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero has already issued guidelines on the conduct of prosecutors, the defense panel and senator-judges, including possible contempt and administrative charges against those discussing the merits of the case outside the trial.

“The issuance of arrest runs counter to the guidelines issued by Senate impeachment presiding officer “ he said.

The impeachment court can act motu proprio even if the defense panel does not file a motion because the impeachment guidelines are already in place, he said.

Ranque said he will raise the issue during the MASADA Economic Empowerment Summit at the Dynasty Court Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, which will discuss guideposts for nation-building amid issues of corruption, disasters and other challenges facing the country.

He said the summit, with participants from across Mindanao, will discuss key guideposts for economic and political recovery.

He said the gathering will bring together more than 1,000 civic and business leaders and other stakeholders from across Mindanao to forge resolutions on Mindanao's economy, good governance, massive corruption, disaster preparedness and national resilience.

"We have identified pressing issues that Mindanao urgently needs to address - Unabated Corruption, Food Security, Climate Change and Investments to serve as our roadmap for Economic Recovery, “ he said.

He said the country has been ranked by the World Bank as the world's most disaster-prone country, with an average of 20 to 30 typhoons a year, along with earthquakes, as the Philippines is situated in the Ring of Fire.

“Finding solutions to these problems is the call of the hour. We will propose changes to the system “ Ranque added.