Joselito Malig

No 'destabilization' seen if impeachment trial prolonged, goes awry, AFP official says

Article (news)

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said they do not expect any &quot;destabilization&quot; should the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte become prolonged or unfavorable incidents occur at the Senate. The AFP took a step back from alleged instability in politics, focusing on its “bigger mandate,” according to Trinidad. “Walang mangyayari. We have been through different rallies, mass protest actions. We have been through different incidents, investigations, flood control, etcetera. The AFP respects this political process,” Trinidad said at a forum on Thursday.“It’s a different branch of government. We support them. We respect them. The instability is in the political side– ‘yung bangayan, ‘yung kuwentuhan, ‘yung awayan. The AFP has taken a step back, and we have a bigger mandate to perform. We look at the overall security picture, which today, is external in nature,” Trinidad added.Data scientist and University of the Philippines (UP) professor Dr. Guido David said he believes the first three days of the trial has not caused much change in political biases. “Although we don’t have data yet, my sense is ‘yung three days of the impeachment trial has not really changed much doon sa predisposed perceptions or ‘yung mga biases ng public. Meaning those who support the vice president still support the vice president and those who are in favor of the impeachment are still in favor of the impeachment. So I don’t think it has swayed any of those factions,” David said.“‘Yung mga independent voters and independent-minded Filipinos who are looking at this without biases, and we know there’s maybe 30 to 40 percent of them, I don’t think their position has been made yet regarding this kasi we’ve only seen, you know, I think one witness pa lang,” David added.David also mentioned a survey showing 3 out of 10 Filipinos believe senators will decide on the trial based on political considerations, while only 1 out of 5 think it will be evidence-based.With this as well as the conviction threshold of 16 votes in mind, David said the trial could result in acquittal. “If it’s political, I’m a data scientist so if we’re counting the number of senators who will vote for acquittal and based on the presiding senator Chiz Escudero’s statement na they will need 16 votes to impeach the vice president, based on that, my sense is it will be acquittal. But it’s not a prediction… It can change. A lot of things can happen,” David said.A pre-trial survey by OCTA Research conducted in April showed 32 percent of Filipinos do not believe most senators will prioritize evidence over political considerations in deciding on the impeachment case.&gt;&gt; EMBED: https://x.com/iamguidodavid/status/2067476018986971392David believes the senator-judges will not be pressured by public opinion. “My sense is ‘yung mga ibang senator-judges, they have already made up their mind kung ano ‘yung decision nila. And that’s why I’m basing it on that. But some of them, possibly, can still change their minds… I don’t think they will be pressured per se by public opinion. And besides, they should not be pressured by public opinion,” David said.Based on social listening, Senator Francis Escudero, the presiding officer of the impeachment court, benefited the most from the first three days of the trial, according to David.The senator gained public favor, David said. “One person who has gotten a boost in public perception here is si Senator Chiz Escudero. And we’re monitoring the sentiments, social listening. I won’t say he has redeemed himself from what’s happened in the past, but he’s definitely gotten a boost from the past three days,” David said.David added, the public is still more concerned about flood control corruption than the impeachment proceedings against the vice president. “Not based on survey pero based on our social listening, mas matimbang ‘yung flood control scandal. Although siyempre, recently that has taken a back seat to impeachment,” David said.“Rainy season na naman so ‘yung flood control, hindi natin makakalimutan. Every time na uulan at may bumaha, maaalala natin ‘yan. So I don’t think that will be forgotten,” David added.Back in April, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said they were preparing plunder raps against Escudero in connection with the flood control issue.<div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/6/ombudsman-preparing-plunder-raps-vs-romualdez-escudero-over-national-budget-issues-1447">Ombudsman preparing plunder raps vs Romualdez, Escudero over national budget issues</a></div>

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said they do not expect any "destabilization" should the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte become prolonged or unfavorable incidents occur at the Senate.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said they do not expect any "destabilization" should the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte become prolonged or unfavorable incidents occur at the Senate.