24/09/2026
PARA SAAN ANG PANUNUMPA, KUNG SA ORAS NA KAILANGAN ITO PANINDIGAN, PUWEDENG MAGBAGO ANG PAGBASA SA SALIGANG BATAS?
I keep looking at the words of the oath taken by our public officials: to support and defend the Constitution of the Philippines, to obey the laws, legal orders, and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities.
These are not just ceremonial words. These are sacred obligations. And that is why what happened in the Senate impeachment court deserves to be questioned not because we should automatically declare anyone guilty of violating the Constitution, but because the Constitution itself must remain bigger than any politician, any party, any alliance, and any personal interest.
Yesterday, 13 senator-judges voted to overturn the earlier ruling regarding the required votes to convict in the impeachment trial. The new interpretation still maintains the two-thirds requirement, but changes the number of senators who may be counted in determining that two-thirds. Six senators chose not to participate in that vote, while the presiding officer voted against changing the threshold.
And this is exactly where the question becomes serious.
The Constitution does not say “two-thirds of the senators present.” It does not say “two-thirds of the senators participating.” It says “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”
There are legal minds who disagree on what that means. Some former justices told the impeachment court that the denominator should reflect senators legally and physically capable of participating. But a retired justice who was one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution argued that “all” means the entire membership of the Senate.
So this is not simply about any single public official. It is about something bigger: what happens when the people entrusted to interpret and defend the Constitution become the ones whose interpretation of it is being questioned?
And this is where I remember the word UNITY. During the campaign, unity was openly presented as a central political message and as a way forward for the country.
But political alliances change. People who once stood together can eventually stand on opposite sides. And that is precisely why we, as ordinary Filipinos, should never place too much faith in political branding. Hindi sapat ang “unity.” Hindi sapat ang magandang slogan. Hindi sapat ang pangalan. Hindi sapat ang pangako.
Because eventually, the cameras disappear. The campaign ends. The votes are counted. The positions are secured. And then we see what people actually do when they are already sitting in the position we entrusted to them.
I am not here to tell anyone whom to support or whom to reject. But I believe Filipinos have every right to ask difficult questions: Did they uphold what they swore to uphold? Did they protect the Constitution when it became inconvenient? Did they put the institution above political alliances?
And when there are competing constitutional interpretations, did they give the Filipino people enough reason to understand why one interpretation should prevail over another? Dahil ang panunumpa ay hindi para sa seremonya. Ang posisyon ay hindi personal na pag-aari. At ang kapangyarihan ay hindi gantimpala. It is a trust given by the people.
Our country has far too many issues that require serious attention: livelihood, poverty, education, healthcare, corruption, infrastructure, security, and the everyday struggles of ordinary Filipinos.
Yet we continue to watch political institutions consume enormous public attention over power, alliances, and constitutional disputes. So perhaps this is the time for Filipinos not simply to ask “Sino ang kakampi natin?” But: “Sino ang tunay na may paninindigan sa batas?” Not because we should blindly follow one political camp over another.
But because the Philippines deserves citizens who examine records, question power, read the Constitution, and judge public officials by what they actually do not only by what they promised when they needed our votes. Sana gumising tayo. Hindi para maging panig ng isang pangalan, kundi para maging panig ng katotohanan, ng Saligang Batas, at ng kapakanan ng bayan.
Because in the end, we are the ones who give them the seat. And we are also the ones who must remember what they promised when they asked for our trust.
