Senator Pangilinan: Popularity ratings have 'no legal bearing' on impeachment case

A public official’s trust rating has no legal bearing on whether they can be impeached for betrayal of public trust, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan emphasized during Tuesday’s trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Pangilinan raised the point after defense counsel presented prosecution witness National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag with an graphic comparing Duterte’s trust ratings against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s.

Seeking clarification, Pangilinan asked Matibag whether public opinion surveys hold any relevance in assessing allegations of constitutional grounds for removal.

Matibag testified that survey results should never serve as a foundation for impeachment, describing them as merely a "snapshot" of public sentiment that can be susceptible to manipulation.

Pangilinan stressed the need to clearly distinguish between political popularity and the legal standards for impeachment to avoid misleading the public.

"In other words, whether your trust rating is negative or 100 percent, under the law and the Constitution, you can still be convicted or acquitted, depending on the evidence, regarding the issue of betrayal of public trust," Pangilinan said.

Matibag agreed, reinforcing that while trust ratings gauge sentiment, betrayal of public trust is a strictly evidentiary standard governed by the Constitution.