By Jose Cielito Reganit
MANILA – House Committee on Public Accounts chairperson Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list on Wednesday said the latest OCTA survey confirms that majority of Filipinos recognize both the gravity of the allegations against the Vice President and the legitimacy of the constitutional process now underway before the House of Representatives.
Ridon noted that the OCTA “Tugon ng Masa” survey, conducted from March 19 to 25 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents, showed that 87 percent of Filipinos were aware of the impeachment proceedings.
The survey further found that 69 percent of Filipinos believe the Vice President Sara Duterte should face trial before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, while only 28 percent disagreed and 3 percent were undecided.
Support for a Senate trial was highest in the Visayas (83 percent) and the National Capital Region (81 percent), followed by Luzon (69 percent). Even in Mindanao, support stood at 61 percent, reflecting majority support across the country’s major regions.
“The survey results demonstrate that the impeachment proceedings are neither fringe politics nor mere partisan controversy. The Filipino people are paying close attention, and a clear majority believes the constitutional process should proceed to trial,” Ridon said in a news release.
He emphasized that the survey was conducted before the April 14 hearing, during which witness Ramil Madriaga and several government officials appeared before the House Committee on Justice.
“Importantly, these numbers were recorded even before the presentation of additional testimonial and documentary evidence during the April 14 hearing. Public support for constitutional accountability had already reached substantial levels even prior to the latest developments,” he said.
Ridon said the findings also affirm that the public understands impeachment “not as political spectacle, but as a constitutional accountability mechanism reserved for the most serious allegations against the highest officials of the land.”
He said the House Committee on Justice will continue to discharge its constitutional mandate by evaluating the evidence and determining whether the threshold for impeachment has been met.
“The House is not engaged in political theater, but in the discharge of a solemn constitutional duty. The Committee will continue to evaluate the facts, the testimony, and the documentary evidence presented before it, and determine whether the constitutional threshold for impeachment has been met,” he said.
He added that the OCTA findings demonstrate a public expectation that constitutional institutions must be allowed to perform their functions without interference.
“The Filipino people are watching closely. They understand the gravity of the allegations. And they expect constitutional institutions to do their duty and allow the process to run its proper course,” Ridon said. (PNA)
