On Monday, May 11, the same day that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, indicting her on charges of corruption and constitutional violations, a coup was successfully carried out at the Senate, where its leadership was replaced with one that is seen as friendlier to the Duterte dynasty.
Senate President Tito Sotto was replaced by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the running mate of former president Rodrigo Duterte during the 2016 elections. For that leadership change to happen just as Congress impeached VP Duterte, Senator Roland “Bato” dela Rosa, who had been absent from work and generally in hiding since November 2025, had to show up at the Senate and cast his vote, for the coup to succeed.
Senator Bato, the former PNP chief and one of the main characters during the bloody drug war of the Duterte administration, was in hiding because he was afraid of facing due process, which means being arrested and brought to the Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity, like his boss. It is quite fitting that the man who played a hand in the deaths of thousands without the benefit of due process was himself so afraid of due process that he went into hiding.
Bato courageously went out of hiding from one of his greatest fears, just so he could do his best to protect a Duterte from impeachment. That act of selflessness for a political patron shows us where his loyalties lie and what he truly represents. However, despite that, something tells me that there are still enough Filipinos who find that kind of blind loyalty to a patron admirable, which means such politicians still get enough votes to stay in power.
Having presented himself to the public, he holed up at the Senate building for a few days, banking on the protection of the new Senate President, and practically begging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to have him arrested and sent to the Hague to join his patron.
However, after a chaotic night where the House of Representatives transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate and shots were inexplicably fired at ghosts, he was allowed to escape in the dead of night, and will probably disappear again until his services are required, not to the Filipino people of course, but by his allies and patrons.
All that has already happened and the weekend hasn’t even started.
An overwhelming majority of Congress has voted to impeach Sara Duterte. According to news reports, she faces four impeachment articles that allege she misused secret funds allotted to her office, bribed officials to circumvent procurement guidelines, amassed unexplained wealth, and plotted to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if she, too, was killed.
One year ago, Duterte was also impeached by Congress. That time, she was saved by a Senate President who exploited the technicality of the word “forthwith” to delay the proceedings, which essentially gave the accused a get out of jail card.
This time around, it looks like the defense of Sara Duterte has begun much earlier and with more bombast, starting with a Senate leadership coup powered by the return of the lost Bato. That begs the question: Are our country’s senators actually interested in the truth behind the grave accusations of massive corruption? Will there even be a trial where a verdict is reached based on the evidence that is presented and weighed, or will they kill it prematurely by exploiting another technicality? Given the effort that went into the Senate leadership coup, it wouldn’t be surprising if they use their numbers to simply vote to dismiss or acquit the case that their colleagues at the lower house have forwarded to them because they have found enough probable cause.
For politicians, an impeachment court is serious business, only because it threatens their business model, as a conviction would result in the disqualification from public office for life. But in the end, it is just a numbers game for them, with emphasis on the second word. We have seen enough impeachments to know how the system can be manipulated or rigged, and just like the anti-political dynasty law, our legislators have done nothing to improve it, even if they know the flaws because they see it as features that work for them, and not as bugs that need to be repaired. It’s serious not because it is about justice or accountability, but because it is about their way of life.
If this week is any indication, the coming weeks will be even more interesting or dramatic. The Filipino people once again get to see what their leaders are made of, where their loyalties lie, and whether or not accountability is possible for the top officials in the land. Whether the Senate will redeem itself, or descend into more chaos and dark comedy, only time will tell.*
