Nancy Binay welcomes not being part of Sara Duterte impeachment trial
Sen. Nancy Binay —File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor-elect Nancy Binay, an outgoing senator, counts it a “blessing in disguise” not being able to participate in the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“The process is very divisive,” Binay, who will exit the Senate on June 30, explained in Filipino.
“And at the moment, when our country has so many problems, that process will divide us even more,” she added.
READ: Senate to convene as impeachment court on June 3
According to Binay, the impeachment trial will also affect the schedule of senators as their attention would be divided between their legislative role and the impeachment.
“So the situation of the incoming senators will be hard,” she said.
Asked what she could foresee happening in the trial with her long history as a senator, Binay responded that the odds might be leaning towards Duterte’s favor.
READ: House receives Senate notice on start of VP Duterte’s impeachment trial
Binay based this on the number of Duterte’s allies who managed to secure Senate seats in the recently concluded midterm elections. Among these allies are reelectionists Ronald dela Rosa, Christopher Go, and Imee Marcos, and first-timers Rodante Marcoleta and Camille Villar.
“At the end of the day, it’s a numbers game. So if you look at the incoming composition, it seems that the allies of Vice President Sara Duterte currently have the upper hand,” she said.
However, Binay also said that the trial could still depend on the evidence to be presented by the House of Representatives prosecution panel.
The Senate has already invited the prosecution panel to appear before them on June 2, a day before the upper chamber officially convenes as an impeachment court. /atm
