Frustration could boil over among Filipinos if the leadership tug-of-war inside the Senate keeps delaying the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro.
Pressed during a press conference on what the prolonged uncertainty over the chamber’s leadership might signal to the public, the 2nd District Batangas representative answered bluntly: “MAGAGALIT ANG MGA TAO.”
Luistro grounded her warning in polling data, pointing to wide public backing for the proceedings to move forward. “The survey already shows the super majority of the Filipino people who are waiting for this trial,” she said.
Her reference tracks with the latest Octa Research Tugon ng Masa survey, which found that 74 percent of adult Filipinos support allowing the Senate to proceed with the impeachment trial regardless of its eventual outcome. The same poll recorded 21 percent opposed and 4 percent undecided, with backing for the trial registering across every major region — highest in the Visayas at 82 percent, followed by the National Capital Region at 81 percent and Balance Luzon at 77 percent, while Mindanao posted the lowest at 58 percent.
The lead prosecutor stressed that the demand for answers has been building for an extended stretch, with the allegations against Duterte still unaddressed before the public. “Simula 19th Congress hanggang sa oras na ito, wala pa pong naririnig na kasagutan ang sambayanang Pilipino,” she said.
That delay sits against a backdrop of disruption inside the Senate, where two rival blocs have each claimed authority to run the chamber. The standoff has thrown Senate operations into disarray — sending staff to work from home, restricting media access, and producing competing directives over a Blue Ribbon Committee investigation. Retired Judge Meinrado Paredes cautioned on June 4 that the dispute could land before the Supreme Court and trigger a full-blown constitutional crisis.
Luistro has separately maintained that the prosecution panel intends to coordinate with the bloc led by acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, whose leadership the House of Representatives has already recognized, noting that the Executive branch has done the same. As long as no temporary restraining order is issued against the new leadership, she has said the trial can move ahead.
