Mass actions pressing for Sara Duterte trial set for June 9 to June 11

The Star

6 hours ago

MANILA: A Catholic priest who was among the first to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte (pic) in December last year has announced plans for mass actions against the Senate's postponements of her trial and a proposal to dismiss her case, saying delaying the process would deny justice to Filipinos.
In an interview with Church-owned Radio Veritas earlier in the week, Father Flavie Villanueva called on the senators to fulfill their constitutional duty and proceed with Duterte's impeachment trial without further ado.
'Impeachment is imperative, impeachment is a moral obligation. Impeachment delayed, justice denied,' Villanueva said.
On his Facebook page on Saturday, Villanueva said there would be a protest march, a vigil and another march on the Senate from June 9 to June 11, which is the last session day of Congress when a prosecutor from the House of Representatives presents the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
The activities were organised by Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition and Tindig Pilipinas, which are composed of groups and individuals who filed the first and third impeachment complaints against Duterte.
Villanueva is the president and founder of the Paghilom Empower and Advocacy program which assists families of victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.
Educators, political prisoners and human rights lawyers have also joined other groups in warning senators against blocking the impeachment trial.
In a statement on Friday night, the Ateneo Human Rights Center said that the postponement of the trial and Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa's proposed resolution seeking to dismiss the impeachment case reduced the constitutional mechanisms in holding public officials accountable to a 'political circus.'
Not 'a single step' was taken to comply with the Senate's constitutional duty to proceed 'forthwith,' or without delay, after the impeachment complaint was filed by the House in February, it said.
'It must be stated plainly: By deliberately delaying the impeachment proceedings, the Senate is failing in its constitutional duty,' it said.
The La Sallian family in the Philippines also condemned moves to block the impeachment proceedings against Duterte.
'Any attempt to suppress this process undermines the pursuit of truth, and the very foundation of democracy, the rule of law, and the principle that no one is above the law,' they said in a statement issued through De La Salle University.
Political prisoners and its support group Kapatid also pressed the Senate to proceed with the impeachment trial.
'Why are political prisoners being made to rot in jail while Vice President Sara Duterte is shielded from scrutiny and accountability despite facing grave charges?' asked peace talks consultant Vicente Ladlad, speaking for the political prisoner held at Camp Bagong Diwa. 'Is (Duterte) above the law that her cohorts in the Senate are now moving to delay, derail, and ultimately dismiss her impeachment trial?'
The human rights lawyers group, National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), on Saturday also denounced the 'political influence' of the Dutertes over the senators.
'Issues of judicial independence loom over the Senate. There, the Dutertes are benefiting from a wide berth in their political influence, wrongly and unlawfully, to delay or even to kill the trial,' NUPL said. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN