House prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday said Vice President Sara Duterte’s 32.2 million votes in the 2022 elections do not give her a license to misuse government funds, amass unexplained wealth, commit bribery, or issue threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as alleged in the Articles of Impeachment now pending before the Senate impeachment court.
Barbers, a former Surigao del Norte representative, made the statement in response to one of the central arguments raised by Duterte’s lead defense counsel, Sheila Sison, who argued that removing the vice president from office through impeachment would effectively render the votes of her 32.2 million supporters “useless” and disenfranchise the electorate.
“Does that mean, because you’re the most powerful person in the government and because you were able to get X amount of votes, does that give you a license to commit all these violations? Sa aking palagay, medyo hindi iyon ang intensyon ng gumawa ng ating Saligang Batas (In my opinion, that’s not what I think is the intent of the framers of the Constitution),” Barbers said.
He stressed that impeachment exists precisely to ensure that even the country’s highest officials remain accountable to the public.
“Kaya nga nilagay ito sa ating Constitution ay para proteksyunan ang interes ng ating mamamayang Pilipino laban sa mga posibleng pag-abuso o paglabag ng ating matataas na opisyal sa gobyerno (That’s why impeachment was put in our Constitution to protect the interest of the Filipino people against possible abuses or violations of our high public officials),” he added.
Barbers emphasized that impeachment is a constitutional accountability mechanism designed specifically for the nation’s highest-ranking officials.
Under Article XI, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, only the President, Vice President, members of the Supreme Court, members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office through impeachment.
He said the constitutional remedy exists to ensure that no public official, regardless of popularity or electoral mandate, is beyond accountability.
Duterte was elected vice president in 2022 with a record 32.2 million votes, the highest ever received by a candidate in a Philippine election.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidency with 31.6 million votes in the same elections, which recorded about 56 million voters—the country’s highest voter turnout since 1998.
Despite Duterte’s overwhelming electoral mandate, Barbers maintained that public officials remain subject to constitutional accountability mechanisms when accused of impeachable offenses.
“The Constitution does not exempt anyone from accountability simply because they received millions of votes,” he said. “If there are allegations of violations of the Constitution or other laws, the impeachment process exists to determine whether those charges have merit.”
The Senate on Monday started hearing the four Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, which allege misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery involving officials of the Department of Education (DepEd), and grave threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. VP Duterte has repeatedly denied the charges. (PNA)