Win, Ping deny budget manipulation in Sara impeach trial

Senate President Win Gatchalian on Thursday categorically denied Vice President Sara Duterte’s allegations that the 2027 budget is being weaponized to sway impeachment votes to convict and remove her from office, saying that such unfounded claims cast a shadow over the impartiality of the ongoing proceedings.

Duterte flagged possible budget manipulation on Wednesday, a day after the prosecution dropped all except Article 2 on unexplained wealth against her. The VP insinuated that the budget, though not yet passed, is being used as a “bargaining chip” to pressure senator-judges and “reward” House lawmakers who voted in favor of her impeachment.

“There’s no such thing being dangled before the senator-judges,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in a chance interview. “There’s no basis for that. The impeachment court would really be compromised if that were to become the allegation.”

Senator Ping Lacson also pushed back on Duterte’s claims, saying such allegations are “unfair” to lawmakers, who not only resist but also combat corruption schemes in the government, specifically in the budget.

“A sweeping statement from no less than the country’s second-highest official is unfair to those of us who have consistently upheld the integrity of the national budget and served as its vanguards,” he contended.

Gatchalian argued that the “budget is not in any way connected to the judgment in the impeachment case,” and that the Senate impeachment court is committed to deliver an impartial decision regardless of the insinuations leveled against its members.

The VP warned that the national budget should not become “instruments of political survival of the corrupt,” describing the ongoing proceedings against her as “political theater disguised as accountability.”

The VP’s sharply worded statement came after the Senate impeachment court allowed the prosecution to drop Articles 1, 3, and 4 three months into the trial and just before the defense presented its counter-evidence.

Duterte’s camp has strongly criticized the withdrawal because it effectively allowed the allegations, which they argued besmirched the VP’s reputation, to go unconstested.

Moreover, Duterte’s spokesperson, Paolo Panelo Jr., alleged that the withdrawal wasted P500 million in public funds over 20 trial days devoted to Articles 1 and 4. Article 3 was withdrawn before the prosecution presented its evidence.

The figure allegedly represents P25 million per day being drained from the Senate budget.

He also criticized the Senate majority for allegedly failing to hold the prosecution accountable after wasting valuable time that the Senate could have used to pass bills needed to address the country’s pressing needs.

Gatchalian also dismissed these allegations, stressing that trying and deciding impeachment cases are powers vested solely in the Senate by the Constitution.

Both Gatchalian and Lacson debunked the P25 million-per-day impeachment budget, saying the figure reflects the cost of operating the entire Senate as a legislative body, whether or not impeachment proceeds.

The Senate leader clarified that impeachment proceedings cost P330,763 per day, totaling P14.56 million over 44 trial days, starting on 6 July.

The budget was sourced from the P25.7-million continuing appropriation under the 2025 budget. The Senate still has P13 million, which Gatchalian projected is already enough to cover the remaining trial days.