Vice President Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Two rallies are set to take place in Metro Manila on Friday—one led by progressive groups and various political parties in the morning and another backed by religious figures and some retired military officials in the afternoon—both calling for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

But the two gatherings may not necessarily be exact echoes of each other, as one of the organizers of the morning rally sought to distance his event from the one happening later in the day.

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Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Saturday pointedly claimed that the second rally would include “pro-Duterte retired generals.”

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“Just to be clear, our multisectoral rally is on Jan 31 9AM at the PEOPLE POWER MONUMENT. This is solely for the IMPEACHMENT OF SARA!” Trillanes said in a post on his social media accounts.

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“This is different from the rally at EDSA Shrine in the afternoon of Jan. 31 that was organized by civil society [groups] but got mixed up with DDS groups and pro-Duterte retired generals,” he added.

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Trillanes’ statement baffled Fr. Robert Reyes, the veteran activist priest representing the Clergy and Citizens for Good Governance (CCGG), the organizer of the indignation concert and rally at Edsa Shrine.

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Reyes maintained that no pro-Duterte group would be taking part in the afternoon rally.

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“We are mystified as to why Senator Trillanes is accusing that this rally on Jan. 31 was infiltrated by the DDS, because this rally is also pro-impeachment. It is very clear in our statement,” Reyes said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“I don’t know where he got the information that this [rally] is infiltrated by the DDS. No one here is [pro-Duterte],” he added, using the initials that serve as shorthand for “diehard Duterte supporters.”

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But Reyes said Trillanes might be referring to retired Brig. Gen. Eliseo Rio Jr. in his post, since Eliseo was once acting secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father.

Rio sees ‘slight bias’

Rio, who was also at the press conference, said he resigned from the DICT after discovering alleged irregularities in the agency.

“About Sonny Trillanes, we were together in the military. That may be why he specifically said retired pro-Duterte generals. I am one of them. In fact, there’s a lot of us [in the rally]. But we are really for good governance,” Rio said.

“I mean, everybody has the right [to hold a rally]. But only one person criticized our rally and seemingly defamed us by saying that we were infiltrated by DDS and generals who are pro-Duterte. Why did he have to say that?” he asked.

“Our question to them: You are rallying for the impeachment, only for the impeachment of Sara. We are rallying for the impeachment of Sara and we are also criticizing Marcos,” Rio said. “Why don’t they also criticize Marcos when in fact, it is him who is preventing the impeachment?

“The impeachment process will not progress without (Marcos’) approval. So you can already see the slight bias there: that they are against Duterte but not Marcos,” he added.

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Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV —House of Representatives photo       Fr. Robert Reyes        Retired Brig. Gen Eliseo Rio Jr.

According to an earlier CCGG statement, the concert and protest action on Friday will not only press for the impeachment of the Vice President but the rejection of corruption “in all forms.”

The group’s other demands include the repeal of the General Appropriations Act for 2025 in order to rectify the “flaws” of the approved national budget and the enactment of an Anti-Political Dynasty Law.

‘Very clear to us’

It is also calling for the release of the names of the beneficiaries of the controversial Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (Akap) and the abolition of confidential funds.

Reyes said: “For the public who are confused, the rally in the morning is for the impeachment [of Vice President Sara Duterte]. The rally in the afternoon at Edsa Shrine is for the impeachment and the budget and against the dynasties. It’s very clear to us, the three are inseparable.”

Still, he stressed there was no conflict between the organizers of the two rallies as some of the attendees may even attend both gatherings.

“Our message to him is: Sonny, we are friends. This is not how we fight a common enemy,” Reyes said, adding:

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“For all of us to be treated as infiltrated by the DDS, that’s absolutely unfair and counterproductive. Sonny, let us work together. Let’s talk. We have a common enemy: the dynasties. They’re the ones stealing the coffers of our country. They’re the ones ruining and ravaging and raping our natural resources. They’re the ones selling us to Chinajili777,” he said.

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