Zì xiāng máo dùn

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Zì xiāng máo dùn is Chinese for “to contradict one’s self.” The phrase is used when someone does or says two things that contradict or cancel each other out. In English, it can stand for being capricious, erratic or hypocritical.

The position of Vice President Sara Duterte on her impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives is “zì xiāng máo dùn.” Last year, she ran to the Supreme Court when more than two-thirds of House members impeached her via the “fast-track” process of impeachment. Sara Duterte argued that she was not given the opportunity to answer the charges against her before the House elevated her case to the Senate for trial.

In a stunning decision, the Supreme Court sided with Sara Duterte despite precedents in previous impeachment cases where the impeachment complaints were transmitted to the Senate after a third of the House signed the complaints sans a lengthy probe in the House. This time, the High Court declared the action of the House unconstitutional for failing to determine probable cause through hearings. The High Tribunal even laid down certain procedures on how the House should conduct impeachment proceedings, with legal scholars in near consensus that the Court exceeded its power and authority with such prescriptions. The power to initiate impeachment is exclusively given by the Constitution to the House, the legal community pointed out.

Despite the serious misgivings of the legal community and the public, the Supreme Court had its way. The Senate impeachment trial of Sara Duterte was halted. It was an enormous legal and political victory for the Vice President.

After the one-year ban on the filing of a new impeachment complaint expired, several groups immediately lodged new complaints against the Vice President in the House. Of the four complaints, the House declared two of them sufficient in form and substance. To avoid legal entanglements with the Supreme Court, the House followed the prescriptions of the tribunal, albeit grudgingly. The “fast-track” pathway was junked. The House instead chose the “long method.”

In compliance with the Supreme Court decision, the House set a series of hearings to determine probable cause on the impeachment complaints. The hearing dates are March 25, April 14, 22 and 29, 2026. The House invited Sara Duterte to attend the hearings not only to present her side but also to rebut and disprove the allegations against her. This is to ensure that due process is given to the Vice President in compliance with the High Court’s decision.

Instead of welcoming the action of the House in following the Supreme Court decision, which was the outcome of her legal victory last year, Sara Duterte once again ran to the Supreme Court to stop the hearings through the issuance of a temporary restraining order, or TRO. She assailed the hearings as “mini trials,” contending that “the impeachment proceedings against” her “are unconstitutional and continuing with them will result in a miscarriage of justice.”

Last year, Sara Duterte complained to the Supreme Court that she was not given a chance to present her side before the elevation of the impeachment complaints to the Senate. The Supreme Court agreed with her. This year, the House is giving her the opportunity to present her side and debunk the complaint following the Supreme Court decision. Instead of welcoming the opportunity to present her side, Sara Duterte is asking for the opposite. She does not want to present her side anymore but wants the cancellation of her impeachment proceedings. She got her wish, but now she wishes it did not come true.

The Supreme Court, finally coming to its senses, refused to rescue Sara Duterte once more. No TRO was issued by the High Tribunal to stop the impeachment hearings in the House. The parties to the petition were instead asked to give their comments.

Failing to get relief from the High Court this time, the impeachment hearing of Sara Duterte in the House scheduled this week proceeded, with Ramil Madriaga, the alleged “bagman” of the Vice President, as the star witness. His testimony, particularly his supplemental affidavit, was explosive.

Madriaga claimed that, contrary to the report that Sara Duterte spent her PHP 125 million confidential fund in 11 days, it was used in a day. “I read from several media reports that the PHP 125 million OVP (Office of the Vice President) confidential funds in 2022 were reportedly utilized in just 11 days. This is wrong because I personally disposed of the money in less than 24 hours,” Madriaga told the House panel.

Another highlight of the hearing was the confirmation by the National Bureau of Investigation, or NBI, that only one person signed the acknowledgment receipts for the different persons who received money from the confidential fund. “Based on the examination conducted of the original copies on file with the COA, there were groups of acknowledgment receipts that were written by the same person,” said NBI documents expert Carolyn Moldez-Pitoy.

In another blow to Sara Duterte, OCTA Research’s latest Tugon ng Masa, or TNM, survey released this week reveals that more than two-thirds, or 69 percent, of Filipinos support the impeachment trial of the Vice President. The survey was conducted from March 19 to 25, 2026. The Visayas showed the highest support for her impeachment trial at 83 percent, followed by the National Capital Region at 81 percent and the rest of Luzon, or Balance Luzon, at 69 percent. Mindanao had the lowest support at 61 percent, but it was still high.

Sara Duterte’s contradictory position on her impeachment is a sign of desperation. She is running out of options to prevent the impeachment hearings. Hearings such as the one this week are uncovering and exposing many of her dirty secrets. Next week, the hearing will focus on her SALNs and wealth. It will likely be more incendiary and damaging.