The Duterte camp cannot claim victory. Losing seven Senate seats is seen by many observers as no small matter, and signals the so-called “Solid Duterte” vote may no longer hold the heretofore national influence it had despite the rankings of Senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa. https://manilastandard.net/
That’s from “Deconstructing the 2025 Senate poll results” by Manila Standard‘s opinion editor Honor Blanco Cabie.
Of course the DDS are saying otherwise, given the unexpected win of Marcoleta, thanks to INC, and the claimed wins of Imee, thanks to both Marcos loyalists and DDS, and Camille, thanks to the rich influence of rich MannyV on both sides of the divide, but which Tito Sotto insists is an Alyansa win.
https://www.youtube
Whatever, the next battleground is the impeachment trial, and the DDS are quite optimistic that VP Sara has more than the 9 Senators she needs for acquittal. Pero siyempre mas ipinagdadasal nila na hindi matuloy ang trial due to procedural issues na maaaring iakyat sa Supreme Court. But from where we the people seat and watch, these are mere technicalities. Besides, “… whether or not Senate Impeachment Rules were followed is a political question belonging to the Senate” and not to the Supreme Court. https://law.upd.edu.ph/
Of course the DDS would prefer that the Senate drop the impeachment case, not because sayang lang ang pera — the VP has the numbers to get acquitted in the end anyway daw, even if guilty — but because they want to spare Sara the public scrutiny, and the retelling and confirming of House findings and conclusions re her betrayal of public trust atbp. And one way or another, baka maungkat din, at baka sumabit pa more, ang kanyang ama.
So the Senate bears watching. Magpapadala ba sila sa takot kina Duterte (baka makabalik a la Trump?) o sa conventional wisdom kuno that the impeachment is divisive and therefore should be dropped?
Prof. Arjan Aguirre of Ateneo’s PoliSci Department is already seeing 3 blocs of 7 each plus a tiny opposition. https://www.youtube.com
The Duterte bloc: Bong Go, Bato, Robin, Marcoleta, Imee, and the 2 Villars.
The Chiz bloc with Jinggoy, Lapid, the Cayetano sibs, and the Tulfo sibs.
The Zubiri bloc with Loren, JV, Gatchalian, and Villanueva, plus returnees Sotto and Lacson.
The Risa, Bam, Kiko bloc.
For sure there will be realignments. Already there is talk that Sotto is being eyed to replace Chiz as senate prez. But why Sotto? Is he expected to be nicer to Sara? Is Sotto a swing vote pala? And what about Bam? Does the INC endorsement mean he will acquit, come what may? Heaven forbid.