I am not a lawyer. I am not a politician. I am just an ordinary Filipino who believes in one thing—that no one, not even the most powerful, should ever stand above the Constitution.
But what we have just witnessed in the impeachment controversy against Vice President Sara Duterte tells a different story. It tells us that accountability is no longer the rule, but the exception. And if we, the people, stay silent, then our Constitution will be nothing more than decoration.
The House Did Its Job
The impeachment complaint started where it should: in the House of Representatives.
The Constitution is clear—only the House can initiate impeachment. And by transmitting the articles of impeachment, the House was not playing politics. It was fulfilling its duty. It was demanding answers to serious allegations.
That’s what impeachment is for. It’s not a weapon. It’s a tool of truth. It says to any high official: you may hold great power, but you are still accountable to the people.
That is exactly what the House tried to do.
A Supreme Court That Crossed the Line
Then came the Supreme Court.
Instead of relying on the official House Journal—the authoritative record of what actually happened—the Court leaned on a misinterpreted news report. Imagine that: the highest court in the land, basing a landmark ruling on “secondhand news.” Even ABS-CBN News later clarified the report was wrong.
Worse, the Court went beyond interpretation and created new requirements for impeachment. Draft articles must first be given to the official for comment, then to House members for deliberation. None of these steps exist in Article XI of the Constitution.
This was not interpretation. This was legislation from the bench. It was amendment without a plebiscite. It was, quite simply, judicial overreach.
And because these invented rules were applied retroactively, the House was faulted for not following procedures that never existed in the first place. That is a violation of due process. It is a violation of prospectivity.
As former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Justice Adolf Azcuna warned, the Court had crossed into Congress’s exclusive lane. Separation of powers was trampled.
A Senate That Chose Convenience
If the Supreme Court tied the House’s hands, the Senate washed its own.
The Constitution says the Senate must proceed “forthwith” with impeachment. But the Senate did not. It waited nearly half a year before even considering to sit as an impeachment court.
And when the Court handed down its ruling, the Senate suddenly moved fast—not to protect accountability, but to bury it. They archived the complaint before the Court could even resolve motions for reconsideration.
That was not prudence. That was choreography. A double standard. A dance of convenience that disrespected the House and denied the people a fair trial.
Let’s not pretend otherwise: it looked like extraordinary protection for one person—the Vice President.
Why This Matters to All of Us
Some might shrug and say: “That’s politics. It doesn’t affect me.” But it does.
Here’s why.
Impeachment is supposed to be the people’s safety valve. It’s the one way we can hold the highest officials accountable when all else fails. But now, with the Court rewriting rules and the Senate archiving cases, impeachment is nearly impossible to use.
The one-year bar rule—meant to prevent harassment—has been twisted into a shield for the powerful. Impeachable officials are now treated as a class above the rest.
The message is loud and clear: if you are an ordinary employee, you can be fired for incompetence. If you are a barangay captain, you can be suspended for abuse. But if you are a Vice President, you are untouchable.
That is not democracy. That is feudal privilege dressed in constitutional robes.
And if the Constitution no longer applies equally, then what’s the point of having one at all?
The Shift We Need
This is not about one official. This is about all of us.
If the House surrenders its mandate, if the Court rewrites the rules, if the Senate chooses politics over duty, then the people lose the only shield we have against abuse of power.
Accountability is slipping away, and if we do nothing, it will disappear altogether.
The shift we need is courage.
The House must stand united beyond party lines and defend its constitutional prerogative. To surrender is to accept irrelevance.
The Supreme Court must reconsider its decision and rediscover judicial restraint. It is not the author of the Constitution. It is only its interpreter.
The Senate must reclaim its honor. It must show respect to co-equal branches and, more importantly, to the people.
And we, the ordinary citizens, must not grow numb. We must remind those in power: the Constitution is not theirs. It is ours.
No One Above the Constitution
I say this not as an expert, but as a Filipino who refuses to be fooled.
No one—no Vice President, no President, no justice, no senator—stands above the Constitution.
Because if we allow even one person to be shielded, then the next will follow, and the next, until the Constitution becomes a hollow word.
So let us be clear: accountability is not optional. It is the lifeblood of democracy. And if our institutions will not defend it, then it is up to us, the people, to demand it.
The Constitution is the people’s will. And the people must never be silenced.
