A Catholic bishop cast the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte as a democratic test of accountability, rejecting claims it amounts political persecution.
Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, convenor of the InterReligious Leaders’ Council for National Transformation, said constitutional mechanisms exist to ensure powerful officials remain answerable to the public.
“Impeachment is not persecution. It is a constitutional and demographic process designed precisely to ensure that public officials entrusted with immense power remain accountable to the people,” Bagaforo said.
“Why should anyone fear due process?” he asked, adding that innocence would be strengthened, not undermined, by transparent legal scrutiny.
Bagaforo, who also chairs the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue, said Duterte should view the process as an opportunity to clear her name before a public increasingly distrustful of institutions.
He warned that resistance to accountability could further erode confidence in government, especially in a country long burdened by corruption allegations.
“At a time when citizens increasingly question the integrity of public institutions, the nation’s highest officials… must not exempt themselves from accountability,” he said.
The bishop urged government leaders, civil society and the public to allow the impeachment process to proceed peacefully and transparently.
“Let evidence be examined. Let truth emerge. Let justice prevail,” Bagaforo said. “Accountability is not political harassment. Justice is not destabilization.”
