Calling them “disturbing realities,” Vice President Sara Duterte pointed to what she characterized as the misuse of constitutional safeguards, the diversion of attention from major controversies, and attempts to enlarge political authority. She delivered the assessment in a video message released Tuesday, June 2, framing the developments as a danger to the country’s democratic foundations.
At the center of her remarks was the claim that public money and state machinery are being directed at political rivals rather than national priorities. “Nakikita natin kung paano ginagamit ang mga institusyon ng gobyerno at ang pera ng taumbayan laban sa anumang oposisyon,” she said.
Duterte argued that no democratic system can hold together when leaders interpret criticism as hostility. “A democracy cannot survive when those in power see every critic as an enemy and every opposing voice as a threat,” she said. She tied this to a broader concern about whether governance in the Philippines now revolves around self-preservation, stating: “These are the symptoms of a government that has become more preoccupied with protecting power than serving the people.”
The vice president urged that institutions such as Congress be shielded from outside pressure. “I have always believed that the independence of our institutions must be protected… free from threats, pressure, or any form of intimidation,” she said. She added that a functioning state benefits from, rather than fears, organized disagreement: “Good governance does not require the elimination of opposition. Democracy works best when there is a healthy opposition that is free to question.”
Opening her statement, Duterte addressed Filipinos directly. “Ang mga natutunghayan natin ngayon ay dapat ikabahala ng bawat Pilipinong naniniwala sa demokrasya,” she said.
Her message landed alongside similar sentiments from Senate allies. Senate President Alan Cayetano has described the chamber as being targeted, linking the legal troubles of its majority members to their push for independence. Malacañang, for its part, has maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stays out of the Senate’s internal matters.
