Four lawmakers representing Davao City said they will stay out of the impeachment proceedings against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., claiming the process has already been shaped by political influence rather than impartial judgment.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, 2nd District Rep. Omar Duterte, 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab, and PPP Party-list Rep. Harold Duterte said they have decided not to join the deliberations and will not vote on the impeachment case.
“We, the undersigned, have chosen not to participate in, nor to cast a vote on, the impeachment of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. We do so not out of indifference, but out of conviction. We cannot in good conscience lend our names, our voices, and our mandate to a process that no longer reflects a genuine and honest pursuit of truth and accountability. To take part under these circumstances would be to betray the very principles that brought us to public service,” the statement read.
The group argued that the proceedings have been influenced at multiple stages, saying both the committee-level handling and discussions in the plenary have been clouded by what they described as strong administration control.
They claimed the environment surrounding the impeachment has made it difficult for lawmakers to exercise independent judgment, and said the direction of the case appears driven by political considerations.
According to the lawmakers, the situation has produced an outcome that seems to be settled in advance, shaped “less by conscience and independent judgment and more by political convenience,” which they said damages the credibility of the process and weakens accountability.
They also linked their decision to broader allegations of misconduct involving the current administration, including reported flood control anomalies and what they called other serious abuses.
The lawmakers also cited what they described as the illegal arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, arguing that such concerns require deeper accountability beyond what they described as procedural compliance.
“What we see instead is a performance masquerading as due process—a spectacle that numbs the nation’s sense of true accountability. To take part in such proceedings would only cloak them in a false legitimacy that it does not deserve,” they said.
They said their refusal to participate should not be seen as avoidance, insisting they are stepping away because they believe the process has been reduced to a political exercise.
“From the very beginning, we therefore resolved to stand apart. Our decision to withhold our participation and our vote is an act of principle, not an act of retreat. We refuse to be used as props in a production that pretends to seek justice while ensuring that those who must answer are never truly held to account. We remain committed to real accountability, to institutions that function with integrity, and to a justice system where truth is neither silenced nor staged, but genuinely heard,” the statement added.
