Impeached Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio has openly campaigned for the Senate bids of at least two candidates originally identified with the administration.
Considered leader of the opposition, Duterte-Carpio surprised political observers when she recently appeared in the new campaign advertisements of Sen. Imee Marcos and Rep. Camille Villar, both listed in the original Senate ticket of the pro-administration “Alyansa ng Bagong Pilipinas.”
Senators who will win the May 12 midterm elections would be sitting as judges in the impeachment court that will decide if Duterte-Carpio is still fit to keep her present post, or if she should be removed and be forever barred from holding public office.
Duterte-Carpio needs the vote of at least nine senators to earn an acquittal.
Alyansa campaign manager Toby Tiangco confirmed earlier that Sen. Marcos has officially withdrawn from the administration ticket. He acknowledged that the elder sister of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who has been vocal against the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, cited differences with the administration party.
About the case of Rep. Villar, the Alyansa campaign strategist said she remained part of the administration slate.
Tiangco stressed in a statement that “in any election every bit of support counts.”
“The five-party Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas composed of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Lakas-CMD, National People’s Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP), and Nacionalista Party (NP) is intact,” Tiangco also said.
Rep. Villar, an NP candidate, is seeking to take over the seat that will vacated by her mother, Sen. Cynthia Villar. Camille’s brother, Sen. Mark Villar, is an incumbent whose term of office will last until 2028.
Conflict of interest
The decision of Duterte-Carpio to appear in separate campaign advertisements of Sen. Marcos and Rep. Villar did not sit well with political analyst Ronald Llamas, saying they were both “clear cases of conflict of interest.”
Llamas said it would appear that the impeached vice-president is “already counting or adding numbers for her impeachment case.”
“Ang medyo nakakahiya dyan yung mga senador na alam naman nila sila ay magiging hukom nagpa-endorse sila doon sa may kasong impeachment o nakasalang sa impeachment. Ibig sabihin talagang clearly it’s a conflict of interest,” Llamas said in a recent interview with broadcast journalist Pinky Webb on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “On Point.”
(What’s embarrassing is that there are senators who know fully well that they will become senator-judges in an impeachment court but sought the endorsement of an impeached official. That means there’s a clear conflict of interest.)
Llamas said he doubted if Sen. Marcos or Rep. Villar, if they win the elections, would voluntarily inhibit themselves from the impeachment trial.
Duterte-Carpio has also appeared in the campaign advertisement of a candidate from the opposition PDP party, Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.
Meanwhile, the rest of the opposition candidates under the so-called “Duter10 Alliance” are mostly against Duterte-Carpio’s decision to support Marcos and Villar.
In a live video on Facebook, PDP candidate Raul Lambino called on voters to support “only the Duter10.” The call was echoed by fellow opposition candidate Richard Mata.
Aside from Mata, Lambino and Marcoleta, the other senatorial candidates under the Duter10 are Sen. Bong Go, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, actor Philip Salvador, lawyer-singer Jimmy Bondoc, Dr. Richard Mata, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and lawyers Vic Rodriguez and Jayvee Hinlo.
