VP Sara says she asked Pulong to either run for Speaker or minority leader
Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday said that she had suggested to her brother, reelected Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo 'Pulong' Duterte, to run for House speaker or minority leader in the 20th Congress.
'Sinabihan ko si Congressman Pulong. Sabi ko sa kaniya, 'Baka gusto mo lumaban ng Speaker.' Hindi pa siya sumagot. Inisip din niya siguro 'yung chances niya na manalo,' Duterte said in a briefing with reporters, as reported by Jonathan Andal on 24 Oras Weekend on Saturday.
(I asked Congressman Pulong. I told him, 'Maybe you want to run for Speaker.' He has not yet responded. He must have also thought about his chances of winning.)
'Sinabi ko sa kaniya, 'Kung hindi ka manalo ng Speaker, then kunin mo 'yung minority'… Wala akong candidate for Speaker or for Senate President. Wala din lumapit sa akin for Speaker or for Senate President,' she added.
(I told him, if you do not win as Speaker, then you should go for the minority leadership… I do not have a candidate for Speaker or for Senate President. No one has approached me to seek my support for Speaker or for Senate President.)
Meanwhile, Speaker Martin Romualdez's allies are confident that he will remain in office.
Deputy Speaker David ''Jay-Jay'' Suarez said at least 240 congressmen have signed the manifesto of support for Romualdez.
'Kung titignan natin sa numero at bilang pa lang, sigurado na po tayo na magpapatuloy si Speaker Martin Romualdez bilang Speaker ng Kongreso sa susunod na tatlong taon. We're very confident with the support na pinakita ng mga partido,' Suarez said.
(If we look at the numbers, we are sure that Speaker Martin Romualdez will continue as Speaker of Congress for the next three years. We're very confident with the support shown by the parties.)
Suarez said the initiative was backed by lawmakers from all major blocs—including Lakas-CMD, National Unity Party (NUP), Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party (NP), Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), and the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI).
'Napaka-kritikal po 'yung susunod na tatlong taon para sa ating bansa. At napakahalaga na stable at nakakaisa ang Kongreso behind our President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos,' Suarez said.
(The next three years are very critical for our country, and it is very important that Congress is stable and united behind our President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos).
Suarez clarified that the meeting of party leaders on Friday was not for a 'loyalty check.'
'It's more of a meet and greet,' Suarez said. — Jamil Santos/VBL, GMA Integrated News
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'Pwedeng pagbotohan 'yun ng plenaryo ng 19th Congress pero anuman ang desisyon namin, hindi pwede i-bind 'yung 20th Congress. So pwedeng magkaroon ng ibang pananaw 'yung 20th Congress. Halimbawa, pwedeng sabihin ng 19th Congress, tatawid 'yan pero ang pasya ng 20th Congress, hindi tatawid 'yan at idi-dismiss nila, so depende,' the Senate President said. (The 19th Congress can vote on it, but regardless of our decision, the 20th Congress cannot be bound. So the 20th Congress can have a different decision. For example, the 19th Congress can say that the impeachment trial will proceed, but the 20th Congress can say otherwise, so it depends.) 'Sa dulo, you have to understand in Congress, plenary is supreme. It's not the decision or the voice of one member even if he or she is the Senate President or an officer of the Senate or the House. Desisyon palagi ng plenaryo ang mangingibabaw sa anumang usapin,' he added. (In the end, you have to understand that in Congress, plenary is supreme. It's not the decision or the voice of one member even if he or she is the Senate President or an officer of the Senate or the House. The decision of the plenary will always prevail no matter what.) Five senators in the 20th Congress were endorsed by PDP-Laban, chaired by Sara's father former president Rodrigo Duterte, during the 2025 midterm elections: Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, and Camille Villar. They will join Senator Robin Padilla, who sits as the party's president. Other senators in the next Congress are either independent or are allied with other political parties. Escudero urged incoming senator-judges, regardless of who they are affiliated with, to remain impartial regarding the impeachment. 'Desisyon at pasya nila 'yon hindi para sa akin na husgahan 'yon. Pero nakalagay sa aming rules hangga't maaari ay maging impartial sana ang bawat senator-judge hangga't hindi pa naririnig 'yung kaso mismo. Maging ganun pa man ang pag-inhibit ay voluntary decision sa parte ng sinumang hukom. Hindi ito pinagbobotohan ng mga miyembro ng hukom mismo,' he said. (They have their own decision and it's not for me to judge. But it is stated in our rules that every senator-judge should be impartial as much as possible until the case has been heard. Even so, inhibition is a voluntary decision on the part of any judge. It is not voted upon by the members of the senator-judges themselves.) Asked if the impeachment trial will proceed as scheduled on July 30, Escudero said that it should "in the ordinary course of events," unless the senators decide otherwise. Based on the proposed schedule, the oath-taking of newly elected senator-judges before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will take place on July 29 at 9 a.m., followed by a plenary session in the afternoon. The trial proper will then begin on July 30 from 9 a.m. until 2:00 pm. 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Reelected Senator Imee Marcos said that the bid to remove Vice President Sara Duterte via impeachment has already failed, amid the postponement of proceedings in the Senate. The reading at the Senate of the articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives prosecution panel against Duterte was initially scheduled for June 2, but was moved to June 11 with the 19th Congress set to adjourn sine die on June 14, with Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero citing the need to prioritize the passage of items in the administration's legislative agenda. 'Para sa akin, 'yan ang importante, makatulong sa tao at tigilan na ang pangunguna ng pampulitikang impeachment na 'yan,' Marcos said in Mav Gonzales's report on GMA's '24 Oras Weekend' on Sunday. 'Pero sa kabilang inuurong nang inuurong 'yung impeachment?...Tanggapin niyo na, talo na ang impeachment. 'Yun lang 'yun. Kahit ngayon, kahit sa Hulyo pa, talo na,' she added. (For me, that is what is important, to help people and stop prioritizing this political impeachment. On the other hand, why is the impeachment being moved again and again? Just accept that the impeachment has lost. That is it. Whether now or in July, it has already lost.) Another Duterte ally, incoming Senator Rodante Marcoleta also said that the trial will not succeed in unseating her. 'Lintik lang ang walang ganti. Humanda sila. Ayaw niyong tumigil, kurbahan natin,' he said in the same report. 'They would not be able to remove the Vice President. Itaga mo sa bato 'yan, itaga niyo sa bato 'yan, walang mangyayari. The Vice President will stay as Vice President,' he added. (There will be revenge. The should prepare themselves. If you don't want to stop, let us curve them. They would not be able to remove the Vice President. Set that in stone, nothing will happen. The Vice President will stay as Vice President.) Marcos and Marcoleta will both be senator-judges at the impeachment trial. 'Forthwith' For his part, outgoing Senate Minority leader Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel III said he is dismayed with the change in the Senate calendar. 'Nung February 2025, nagpalabas na ng impeachment calendar si SP [Senate President]. Diba dinebate natin dati 'yun na 'forthwith.' Dapat nga hindi mo na hinintay ang June 2 pero siya na ang nasunod kasi lumipas na ang panahon,' he said. (In February, SP already released a calendar. We also debated the term 'forthwith.' He should not have waited for June 2 but he was followed as time passed.) For his part, attorney and constitutional law expert Domingo Cayosa said it seems as though Senate is dribbling the impeachment. 'Even if you look at the rules of the Senate itself, malinaw naman na kapag may [it is clear that if there is an] impeachment, it takes precedence over the ordinary legislative work,' he said. 'It's not fair to the accused, it's not fair to the prosecutors, it is not fair to the Filipino people,' he added. GMA Integrated News has reached out to Escudero for comment on the matter, but he said he will release a statement on Monday, June 2. According to House Assistant Majority Leader and Tingog party-list Representative Jude Acidre, he is optimistic that the impeachment trial will still push through, if not in 19th Congress then in the 20th, as seen in the United States where the impeachment trial process of the Philippines has pas been patterned. 'Pinakilala dun si President Bill Clinton. Na-impeach sa isang Kongreso at nagkaroon ng trial sa kabilang Kongreso. Gusto ko na lang panghawakan 'yung sinabi ni Senator Jinggoy Estrada na gagampanan ng Senado ang kanilang Constitutional duty na talakayin ang impeachment,' he said in a separate report by Jonathan Andal. (Most known is that of President Bill Clinton. He was impeached in one Congress and the trial was held in another. I trust what Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that the Senate will perform its Constitutional duty to take up the impeachment.) Acidre also called Duterte's remarks—likening her impeachment trial to a crucifixion—as drama. 'Hindi kailangan ng drama dito [There is no drama needed here]. We don't even have to resort to language such as that,' he said. 'Kung naniniwala ang ating Bise Presidente at ang kaniyang mga kakampi na wala silang kasalanan, na wala silang pananagutan, harapin nila [If the Vice President and her allies believe that they are innocent, if they do not have liabilities, they should face it],' he added. Hearings earlier revealed that the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd), also previously headed by Duterte, submitted documents with wrong dates, signatures without names of signatories, and unreadable names of signatories to justify the disbursement of its confidential funds in 2022 and 2023. A House panel in December found that there was no PSA record of 'Mary Grace Piattos,' whose signature appeared the most in acknowledgement receipts for confidential funds of office under Vice President Sara Duterte. The House panel earlier offered a P1-million reward for any information on the individual. Duterte, for her part, earlier said she has not seen the acknowledgement receipts from confidential funds supposedly signed by 'Mary Grace Piattos.' Another article of impeachment against Duterte is her stating that she had contracted a killer to assassinate erstwhile ally President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. if she is killed. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News
