Chiz Escudero Scared Of or Protecting VP Sara Duterte?

House members asked Senate Chief Chiz Escudero this question.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña asked Senate President Chiz Escudero if he is afraid of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte was supposed to be on June 11, but it seems like this is not going to happen anymore, as the 19th Congress is going to expire soon. Senate President Chiz Escudero said that the trial will depend on the 20th Congress.

Senator Risa Hontiveros discussed the impeachment trial delay during her privilege speech and said, “We owe it to the Filipino people to convene as an impeachment court and begin the proceedings at the soonest possible time.”

The delay in the impeachment trial of the vice president has sparked speculations online and raised lots of questions among people and other political figures.

On Tuesday, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña raised a question to Escudero: “Does he fear Vice President Sara Duterte?”

“The Senate’s inaction risks being seen as a betrayal of its constitutional mandate and a deliberate attempt to shield the Vice President from accountability,” Cendaña added. He also expressed that the impeachment court is mandated by the 1987 Constitution, and that the trial is not like a fashion show that can be rescheduled anytime.

ACT Teachers Representative France Castro also asked: “With due respect to our Senate President, my question is: Who are you protecting with those kinds of statements? The people, or Sara Duterte? So think carefully, especially those who won in the last election — who is being protected here?”

Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas also stressed that a trial is important, as “it will give the prosecutors a chance to present, including the evidence that this Congress was able to gather.”

Meanwhile, the six major allegations in the impeachment trial of VP Sara are: