Philippines: Religious Conference Calls Supreme Court Ruling on Duterte Impeachment a “Betrayal of Public Trust”

The Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) has issued a statement, expressing protest over the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional.

“This ruling is more than a legal maneuver, it is, in our eyes, a blatant betrayal of the people’s trust and a mockery of our democratic institutions,” the CMSP said.

According to the religious leaders, the High Court chose "silence over scrutiny, technicalities over transparency, and impunity over integrity" at a time when the public was seeking truth and accountability.

“By shielding the Vice President from a legitimate process of accountability, the Supreme Court has deepened the growing perception that the law no longer serves the poor and the powerless, but protects only those with influence, pedigree, and proximity to power,” the statement continued. “The timing, the rationale, and the implications of this decision reek of complicity and cowardice.”

“It [the Supreme Court] has failed in its solemn duty to be the last bastion of justice,” the conference added.

The religious leaders urged Filipinos to unite in demanding accountability and to organize for moral resistance.

“We urge all people of faith, all communities of conscience, and all defenders of truth to rise in a peaceful, prophetic resistance,” they said.

They emphasized that the Church must not be complicit through silence, inaction, or timidity in the face of injustice.

“As consecrated persons, we are called to be watchmen of truth, defenders of the poor, and disturbers of unjust peace,” they declared. “The Gospel demands it. The people cry for it. History will judge us by it.”

In February this year, 215 of the 306 members of the House of Representatives signed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte. The complaint alleged malversation of P612 million in confidential funds, conspiracy to assassinate the President, bribery and corruption in the education department, unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets, involvement in extrajudicial killings, and participation in destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder.

Vice President Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity committed during his tenure as mayor of Davao City and President of the Philippines.

The CMSP called on fellow religious leaders and the Filipino people to stand together in the face of injustice.

“Let us walk together as pilgrims of hope, not in denial, but in defiance of darkness,” they said. “Let us walk as a Church not of the powerful, but of the poor and the prophetic.”