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‘Why do I have to keep explaining?’
KUALA LUMPUR – Days before the Senate convenes for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, President Marcos has reiterated his opposition to the process.
“Why do I have to keep on explaining that I do not want the impeachment?” the President said.
Duterte’s impeachment did not have the support of half of Filipinos, based on a Pulse Asia survey conducted a few days before the midterm elections.
Results of the May 6 to 9 survey showed that 50 percent of the respondents disagreed with the filing of the impeachment case against Duterte by the House of Representatives.
Only 28 percent of the respondents agreed with the filing of the impeachment complaint, while 21 percent said they were undecided.
Those who disagreed with Duterte’s impeachment hardly changed from 51 percent in March, although it was up from 45 percent in February.
Meanwhile, support for the impeachment increased by two points to 28 percent in March from 26 percent in February.
Across areas, support for Duterte’s impeachment was highest among those in Metro Manila and rest of Luzon (40 percent), followed by those in the Visayas (29 percent) and Mindanao (one percent).
Disagreement with Duterte’s impeachment was highest among respondents in her bailiwick Mindanao (96 percent), followed by those in the Visayas (53 percent), Metro Manila (32 percent) and rest of Luzon (29 percent).
Those who agreed with Duterte’s impeachment was highest among class ABC (37 percent), followed by those in class D (28) and E (13 percent).
Conversely, disagreement was highest among those in socio-economic class E (68 percent), followed by those in class D (50 percent) and ABC (40 percent).
Pulse Asia’s May survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.
1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, one of the prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Duterte, downplayed the latest Pulse Asia survey saying public opinion should not dictate the course of a constitutional process.
“In relation to the prosecution, personally I can’t speak for everyone else, but we have to take it with a grain of salt,” Gutierrez said.
“We also saw the result of the surveys in our senatorial elections,” he said, referring to the unexpected win of Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan in the recent senatorial race. “I really take surveys with a pinch of salt right now.”
Newly appointed House of Representatives spokesperson Princess Abante also cautioned the public against leaning too heavily on survey results when gauging public opinion on critical political matters.
“If we have learned something in the elections, that is the data of the surveys prior to the elections did not jibe with the actual results,” she said.
Marcos: Why would I resign?
Saying he is not the type who escapes from problems, President Marcos rejected calls for him to step down, as he vowed to carry out a “deeper” review of the performance of his officials to improve the quality of service rendered by the government.
Allies of former president Rodrigo Duterte demanded Marcos’ resignation after the President had directed members of his Cabinet to submit their courtesy resignation to give him the leeway to assess the performance of each department.
Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque and former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez claimed that the changes in the Cabinet would not improve anything because the problem lies with Marcos.
“Why would I do that? I am not the type who runs away from problems,” Marcos told reporters in Kuala Lumpur when asked to react to calls for him to resign.
Marcos declined to elaborate on the succeeding leadership changes in his administration, but revealed that his performance review would go beyond the Cabinet and would cover agency heads.
“We are looking at the problem deeply... Expect us to be doing a rigorous review, not just at the Cabinet level but deeper,” he said.
The President also confirmed that he has chosen the successor of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, who will retire from the service in June.
However, he refused to identify the next police chief, saying he has to inform the appointee first.
Marcos said the PNP has been doing well in fighting crime, but emphasized the need to strengthen police visibility in the streets so people would feel safer.
He said the police should seek to respond to incident reports within five minutes.
Sara vs Bong Go in 2028?
Meanwhile, a political analyst said Sara Duterte’s presidential bid may be facing its toughest challenge from Sen. Bong Go, her father’s long-time ally and protegé.
In an interview with One News, Ateneo de Manila University Political Science Department Assistant Professor Arjan Aguirre said Go has been using his closeness with detained former president Rodrigo Duterte to advance his political career.
“The closeness of Sen. Bong Go with president Duterte has a different quality. Sen. Bong Go has been using this for his political career. Meanwhile, the relationship of VP Sara with her father is also different. The dynamics are different. The father and daughter are not close and they have differences. Sen. Bong Go is very loyal to the former president and there is still tension between VP Sara and her father,” Aguirre said.
“I am also thinking, with the dynamics between Sara Duterte and Bong Go, it is possible that there will be internal tension,” he said. — Bella Cariaso, Jose Rodel Clapano
