Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said Wednesday the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey vindicates the House of Representatives for initiating the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte.

He said the survey result also affirmed that the Filipino people, especially those in Mindanao, want public officials to be held accountable through constitutional means.

Adiong was reacting to the results of the SWS survey commissioned by Stratbase, which showed that 66 percent of Filipinos nationwide agree that Duterte should face the allegations against her through the impeachment process, while 19 percent disagreed and 15 percent were undecided.

The same survey showed that 55 percent of respondents in Mindanao, a known Duterte bailiwick, want the Vice President to answer the charges.

“It’s a direct expression of what the 19th Congress did and what we continuously do – holding each official, the Vice President in this particular matter, accountable for her actions,” Adiong said in a press conference.

“It is a vindication from the public that there’s really a clamor ng ating taong bayan for accountability, na mga issue na hindi nasagot, ay dapat masagot sa tamang paraan (of the people for accountability, that the unanswered issues should be answered in the proper forum), which in this case is the impeachment trial.”

Adiong, who was among the lawmakers who signed the verified impeachment complaint against the Vice President, said the survey results show that the House acted not out of politics but in service of the Constitution and the Filipino people.

“Nagpapatunay po ito na (This proves) we are on the right track. What we did was actually to serve not any particular political agenda but for the interest of the nation, and the people understood that message,” he said.

“Kaya ‘yung survey na mataas, na sinasabing kailangang maumpisahan ang impeachment trial, ay vindication po iyan, unang-una, sa ginawa po natin para panagutin kung sino man ‘yung dapat managot (So, the high survey result showing the clamor to start the impeachment trial is a vindication, primarily, of what we did to make accountable whoever is accountable) without fear or favor,” he added.

Asked whether public clamor has any bearing on the Senate’s actions, Adiong said the real message of the survey is a call for leaders to follow the Constitution.

“I think the message that the public wants to send to us as public officials is to be more attuned and compliant with what the Constitution says. And the Constitution says that those impeachable officers, if they are facing serious violations that stand among the betrayal of public trust, then impeachment trial, as demanded by the Constitution, should proceed,” he said.

The House adopted the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte in February after finding sufficient grounds to pursue charges, including the alleged misuse of PHP612.5 million in confidential funds, PHP125 million of which was spent in just 11 days in December 2022.

The Senate is expected to reconvene as an impeachment court and may begin the trial on Aug. 4. (PNA)