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MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) appealed to senators to immediately proceed with Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, saying that this constitutional duty “is not optional.”
“We appeal to all senators, especially to those in leadership, to allow the constitutional process to proceed without obstruction. If there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear,” said Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the CBCP, in a statement on Tuesday, June 10.
Duterte, 47, is accused of misusing public funds and other misdeeds, but her political allies have sought to derail her impeachment trial. Efforts to delay the proceedings have triggered a public outcry, as recent surveys showed a majority of Filipinos want her to face the impeachment court.
David clarified that he was speaking “not in the name of any political group or interest, but from the perspective of the Church’s social teaching, which calls for moral responsibility, accountability, and the primacy of the common good in public life.”
In this context, the 66-year-old cardinal said impeachment “is not exempt from the moral demands of truth, justice, and accountability.”
“When politics serves only partisan interest, it degenerates into manipulation; but when it is guided by conscience and the common good, it becomes a noble service,” he said. “To delay, dismiss, or ignore such a process for reasons of political convenience is to betray the Constitution and the people’s trust.”
“Public officials must transcend partisan interests and act in a spirit of justice and truth. The search for truth is not a political agenda; it is a moral imperative,” he added.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a former president of the CBCP, said in a separate statement that delaying the impeachment trial is a form of immorality.
“To delay the trial or even to abort it is to suppress the truth. It is a sin. The opponent, the devil, is rightly called the Prince of Lies,” said Villegas. “To abort the trial even before its delayed commencement is deplorable. It is a sin against justice.”
The CBCP was the latest and most significant religious group to call on the Senate to immediately start Duterte’s impeachment trial.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Jesuit Commission on Social Apostolate said Duterte’s impeachment trial should “proceed posthaste,” because delaying it “would be a travesty of justice and a serious slap at our democracy.”
The Jesuit social centers said this was because the articles of impeachment against Duterte involve corruption and therefore serve as “a test case for the rule of law in this country.” It “is also an acid test for Philippine democracy.”
“Indeed, it is not just the Vice President or the Senate that is on trial, but the whole democratic project which is the locus for real economic development and progress. For the sake of our fragile democracy and for the poor we serve, let the impeachment trial proceed forthwith,” the Jesuit Commission on Social Apostolate said. – Rappler.com
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