Estrada: Not enough time to tackle impeachment bid vs VP Duterte

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada believes there is no longer enough time for Congress to tackle the impeachment bid against Vice President Sara Duterte.

A second impeachment complaint against her is set to be filed this Wednesday at the House of Representatives  by the progressive Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

The first complaint lodged on Monday was initiated by 16 individuals from civil society, advocacy groups, and relatives of alleged drug war victims during the time of Duterte’s father, then President Rodrigo Duterte.

But is there still time for Congress to tackle the impeachment complaints against her? Estrada quickly said, “Hindi na.” (No more)

“We’ll adjourn on December 18. We’ll resume on January 13. We’ll adjourn again first week of February,” he pointed out in an interview Tuesday night.

Estrada also could not think of how Congress could expedite the proceedings, as he expected the voluminous documents that may be presented during the impeachment hearings.

He later stopped himself from further commenting, recalling Senate President Chiz Escudero’s call on them not to talk about the impeachment complaints against the VP.

When pressed, however, if a special session may still be called to tackle the impeachment complaints, Estrada answered, “I don’t think so. I’ll just keep mum on it.”

He went on anyway, reiterating his previous statement that he was against any impeachment as it would only further divide the country.

“What happened when my father was impeached? O gumanda ba ang buhay ng Filipino? Wala naman,” Estrada said.

(What happened when my father was impeached? Did the lives of Filipinos improve? Not really.)

In 2000, the House impeached Estrada’s father, former Joseph “Erap” Estrada, but his trial in the Senate was aborted in 2001 after a prosecution walk out. This trigged a people power that ousted the former leader.

“Nung natanggal yung matandang Marcos, gumanda ba? Lalong nag-worsen,” Sen. Estrada also pointed out.

(When the old Marcos was removed, did things improve? They actually got worse.)

He was referring to the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was also ousted by a people power revolt in 1986.

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.