Makati Business Club joins growing calls for Senate to proceed with Duterte impeach trial
The Makati Business Club (MBC) has added its influential voice to the growing chorus urging the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court and begin the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“We view this issue as a governance issue and a test of public accountability and the rule of law,” MBC said in a statement released Monday, June 9, 2025.
“If we do not follow the rule of law, how can we expect to attract foreign and even local investors to bring in long term investments, which would lead to the creation of jobs?” said a leading group of top executives and industry leaders.
MBC said the trial is necessary to allow both the presentation of evidence and a venue for the Vice President to defend herself.
“The Senators, individually, and the Senate, as an institution, will betray public trust and not provide the Vice President with the forum to refute charges if they do not proceed with the impeachment trial,” the group said.
MBC’s statement comes amid a wave of strongly worded public appeals from academic institutions, law schools, political science scholars, and student councils across the country—who have similarly demanded that the Senate uphold its constitutional responsibility.
Students and faculty from nine academic institutions—spanning universities, a senior high school, and a nationwide school network—have issued a unified call for the Senate leadership to immediately proceed with the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte.
In separate but coordinated statements, they warned that delaying or dismissing the constitutional process would erode democratic institutions and betray public trust. Among the signatories are respected former Supreme Court justices, a framer of the 1987 Constitution, law school deans, and faculty of political science and development studies.
From the Lasallian Family in the Philippines to the San Beda Senior High School Student Council, the message was consistent and unequivocal: Uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.
“We raise our collective voice in strong condemnation of any and all efforts—covert or overt—to prematurely discard or obstruct the constitutional process of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte,” the Lasallian Family said.
“The impeachment process is not merely a political exercise; it is a sacred mechanism enshrined in the 1987 Constitution to ensure that the highest public officials remain answerable to the people they serve,” added the network of 16 schools from Manila to Bacolod to Surigao del Sur.
They reminded senators that they are “guardians of the Republic’s integrity,” warning that cutting short the impeachment process would not only be a disservice to justice but “a betrayal of public trust.”
Adding to the chorus of concern, a group of scholars from the fields of Political Science and Development Studies also released a powerful statement denouncing the Senate’s continued inaction.
“We express our deep disgust and grave concern over the protracted delay in convening the Senate as an Impeachment Court to try the case against Vice President Sara Duterte,” the scholars declared.
“The continued inaction not only erodes public trust in our democratic institutions but also makes a mockery of the mechanisms for accountability enshrined in our Constitution. The deliberate foot-dragging reflects an active political maneuvering using a democratic institution that is meant to secure accountability, specifically of a high government official alleged to have committed high crimes and betrayed public trust,” they added.
The Ateneo School of Government echoed this sentiment, calling the impeachment a “sacred duty.” “Dispensing the case without the benefit of a trial is a dereliction of duty and a clear attempt to whitewash the accusations raised against a public official,” its faculty said, emphasizing that the Senate must “convene the impeachment court now.”
Faculty from San Beda University’s Graduate School of Law, including former Supreme Court Justices Adolf Azcuna and Jose Vitug, and law deans Antonio La Viña and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, stressed: “The Senate must proceed with the trial. An undue delay sends the signal that mandated processes are thwarted for ulterior ends.” (Azcuna also served as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission and was vice chair of its legislative committee.)
Student councils joined the call. The University of Santo Tomas Central Student Council called the allegations against Duterte—including the misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds and the so-called Piattos fiasco—a blatant violation of public trust that must not go unexamined. “Now more than ever, it is crucial to rise in collective action, defend our democratic institutions, and ensure that no public official is above the law,” the UST CSC said.
The Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance emphasized that impeachment is not about partisanship but about restoring democratic norms. “It’s about the greater good prevailing over partisan politics and blind idolatry,” they said, noting they stand “with the majority of the Filipino people in their clamor to uphold the 1987 Philippine Constitution.”
A recent nationwide survey revealed that nine in 10 Filipinos want the impeachment trial to proceed.
The Philippine Law School faculty explained the constitutional basis for proceeding with the trial despite a change in Congress, noting that impeachment is a non-legislative function. “A trial is not a matter of numbers; it is a matter of national integrity,” they said. “For in moments such as these, it is not comfort that history remembers, but conscience.” Philippine Law School Dean Jose A. Grapilon was among the signatories.
Student councils from San Beda University, including its Senior High School unit, described the delay as a betrayal of justice, transparency, and democratic integrity. “We demand that [our lawmakers] put the interest of the Filipino people above political allyship and power,” the San Beda SHS Student Council declared.
A particularly stinging message came from the PUP College of Political Science and Public Administration Student Council, which warned, “Democracy doesn’t just die overnight—it’s chipped away by leaders who bend the rules, dodge accountability, and put loyalty over the law.”
The coordinated public statements represent a rare, cross-sectoral intervention from the country’s business, academic, and student communities on a single, highly charged political issue—underscoring the gravity with which they view the delayed impeachment trial.
In February, the House of Representatives transmitted the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte after securing the constitutional one-third requirement. Senate President Francis Escudero has since delayed the trial’s opening to June 11, citing legislative priorities—a move critics fear could indefinitely stall or quietly bury the process.