13/06/2025
Sigaw ng Iskolar ng Bayan: Convict Sara Now!
Unity Statement on the Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Duterte
The Youth Cannot Be Fooled—Senate’s Remand Is A Cowardly Evasion of Accountability
The Senate has chosen to betray its constitutional duty. Instead of proceeding forthwith with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as mandated by the Constitution, the Senate has remanded the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives, effectively stalling the trial.
We, student formations of the University of the Philippines, vehemently condemn this institutional manipulation. We join the national outcry demanding that the Senate immediately proceed with the trial and hold the vice president accountable.
This maneuver is not just a delay tactic. It is a cowardly, calculated attempt to derail the process of accountability and shield Sara Duterte from answering charges of corruption, misuse of public funds, and abuse of power.
To delay any further is not just dereliction of constitutional duty—it is betrayal of the public trust. The Senate’s move is only part of a broader pattern of self-serving inaction to protect the powerful while denying justice to the people.
We condemn the Senate’s inaction and the efforts to dismiss the case on baseless procedural grounds. We also denounce President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s dismissive stance and his apparent willingness to shield Duterte from accountability, revealing how corruption and impunity thrive under a political system that prioritizes its own interests.
The constitutional provision on public accountability exists to ensure that no official is above scrutiny. The House of Representatives has already adopted the Articles of Impeachment. The Senate’s only job now is to try the case—fairly, publicly, and without delay.
As student leaders and campus journalists, we will not sit silently while our future is stolen by thieves in power. We will be at the gates of the Senate. We will be on our campuses. We will be in the streets. And we will speak, write, organize, and march until justice is done.
To the Philippine Senate: Commence the trial now. Do your duty. Honor your oath. Stand with the Filipino people.
SIGNATORIES
UP Office of the Student Regent
KASAMA sa UP
UP Solidaridad
Student Councils:
UP Mindanao University Student Council
UP Mindanao College of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council
UP Mindanao College of Science and Mathematics Student Council
UP Mindanao School of Management Student Council
UP Cebu University Student Council
UP Manila College of Arts and Sciences Student Council
UP Manila School of Health Sciences Palo Student Council
UP Manila University Student Council
UP Manila Nursing Student Council
UP Manila College of Public Health Student Council
UP Open University University Student Council
UP Los Baños University Student Council
UP Los Baños University Freshman Council
UP Los Baños College of Economics and Management Student Council
UP Los Baños College of Veterinary Medicine Student Council
UP Los Baños College of Development Communication Student Council
UP Los Baños College of Development Communication Freshman Council
UP Los Baños College of Human Ecology Student Council
UP Diliman College of Arts and Letters Student Council
UP Diliman College of Social Work and Community Development Student Council
UP Diliman Engineering Student Council
UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Student Council
UP Diliman College of Science Student Council
UP Tacloban College Student Council
UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Freshie, Shiftee, and Transferee Council
UP Clark-Subic Student Council
UP Baguio University Student Council
UP Visayas University Student Council
Student Publications:
Himati - UP Mindanao
The Cursor - UP Open University
UP Baguio Outcrop - UP Baguio
Tug-ani - UP Cebu
Ang Mangingisda - UP Visayas
Lanog - UP Cebu College of Communication, Art, and Design
Philippine Collegian - UP Diliman
The Manila Collegian - UP Manila
Tinig ng Plaridel - UP Diliman College of Media and Communication
Medikritiko - UP Manila School of Health Sciences
UPLB Perspective - UP Los Baños
Pagbutlak - UP Visayas College of Arts and Sciences
Vital Signs - UP College of Nursing
Ang Tagamasid - UP Manila College of Arts and Sciences
UP Vista - UP Tacloban College
Union of Journalists of the Philippines - UP Diliman College of Media and Communication
SINAG - UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
Frontliner - UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga and Olongapo
The Public Herald - UP Manila College of Public Health