Business groups urge Senate: Be objective in Duterte impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — Two of the country’s most influential business groups on Monday issued pointed appeals to senators to set aside personal and political interests as they prepare to convene as senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In separate statements, the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) called the trial among the Senate’s “most important” constitutional duties and an opportunity to restore public trust in the chamber.

In particular, the MBC took note of the “unprecedented drama and chaos” that unfolded within the Senate in recent weeks, which the MAP said had placed the institution “at a difficult moment, amid deep political divisions and widespread public outrage.”

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“The Makati Business Club respectfully reminds all our Senators that you were elected by the people to serve the people and not pursue personal, political or business interests,” the MBC said in a statement dated May 24 but released on Monday.

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It also singled out Senate President Allan Peter Cayetano, saying the responsibility to restore the Senate’s credibility “rests to a large extent” on the chamber’s leader, whom it described as the institution’s “moral compass, administrative guardian and public face.”

“If the public perceives the Senate President as purely partisan, does not possess the necessary independence and moral ascendancy, public confidence in the institution is eroded,” the MBC statement read.

For its part, the MAP appeared to signal support for another change in Senate leadership—a move that, if realized, would make Cayetano’s stint among the shortest in Senate history.

“We respectfully urge the consideration of a peaceful and principled realignment in Senate leadership that will place the proceedings on the firmest possible foundation of impartiality and fairness,” the group said.

“A Senate leadership that is widely regarded as objective and above partisan interest will help safeguard not only the rights of the accused and the integrity of the House prosecutors, but also the legitimacy of the Senate as an institution entrusted with constitutional responsibility,” it added.

The Senate formally convened as an impeachment court on May 18 and is expected to begin Duterte’s trial on July 6.

Duterte is charged with misuse of confidential funds, bribery to circumvent procurement rules, and unexplained wealth, among others. /cb