While I was still living in Metro Manila, I kept myself abreast of the latest news and even spent hours binge-watching Senate hearings, or making them white noise as I worked at home (and sometimes in the lab too), as if they were television dramas. The governing powers just feel so close in the metro, and not knowing what was going on around me felt like a moral failure, or missing out on a lot.
But since I’m back home, I feel like watching the news and reading every piece of breaking news disturbs my peace, or at least the bubble I am trying to live in. However, today turned out to be different after my uncle told me about how chaotic the afternoon was in Philippine politics.
So I started scrolling through Facebook just to get an overview of what’s going on, which got mixed into a mush of Mother’s Day posts, family photos, and milestone updates. Three significant things happened today:
- The House of Representatives voted 257 to 25 to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time. The charges include alleged misuse of public funds, bribery, and plotting to kill President Marcos. Duterte skipped every hearing and denied the charges through written statements and press conferences. The case now moves to the Senate for trial.
- Thirteen senators coordinated to remove Senate President Tito Sotto and install Alan Cayetano in his place. Cayetano, who has longstanding political ties to the Duterte family, will now preside over the impeachment trial. The move happened within hours of the House vote.
- Senator Ronald Dela Rosa returned to the Senate after a seven-month absence amid reports of an ICC arrest warrant against him. He cast one of the 13 votes in favor of the leadership change. He claimed that NBI agents physically blocked him from entering the session hall and that he sustained minor injuries in the struggle. Former senator Trillanes arrived separately and presented what he said was the ICC warrant. The Senate subsequently placed Dela Rosa under its own protective custody.
Sources: GMA News, Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency, Philstar, Rappler (all May 11, 2026)
All these things happened in one afternoon, while I, an ordinary citizen, was out of my way working for the day’s wages.
While I scroll through these news updates on Facebook, between social media posts about happy families and summer vacations, mixed with reaction posts from supporters and opponents, I feel conflicted and detached because, while these things are real and happening, they also feel so far away.
Should we all have an immediate reaction to what’s going on around us, or can we be given a moment to stand back and think and assess how to better hold our peace? Because while it feels so easy to just type and post what comes first to our minds, especially about things that arouse our anger and reinforce our fear, it takes a lot of effort to first do nothing and use the time to think things through.
I don’t know. I closed Facebook and went back to work. Perhaps that’s enough for now.
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