Groups that support removing Vice President Sara Duterte from power swifly slammed her statement that she is “ready” to replace President Ferdinand Marcos Jr if he steps down from office. Duterte made the remark in a media interview in Davao City on November 25.

“Really! How shameless,” the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA, or People Against Thieves and Abusers Network) said. According to the group, Duterte is not different from Marcos, who is now being exposed as also involved in large-scale government corruption. “Both are corrupt, both a burden to the masses!”

TAMA NA was among those that acted and supported the House of Representatives’ impeachment against Duterte and condemned the Senate’s cancellation of her trial.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5 after at least than 215 congressmen signed and supported the move. The impeachment case against Duterte proceeded after the Marcos regime’s nearly two months of delay. The president’s son, Sandro Marcos, personally led the endorsement of the complaint.

The impeachment complaint contained seven articles. These included corruption involving ₱615.5 million in confidential funds; bribery and corruption in the Department of Education; unexplained wealth; and failure to declare her assets in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

On August 6, the Senate finally terminated Duterte’s trial on the impeachment articles. The case was “archived,” supposedly complying with the Supreme Court’s decision issued on July 25 declaring the vice president’s impeachment “unconstitutional.”

Various groups and individuals, including TAMA NA, filed a letter to the Supreme Court on August 5 requesting a hearing regarding the court’s decision. This aimed presenting to the court new arguments that could lead to a reversal of its decision declaring Duterte’s impeachment “unconstitutional.”

On October 17, TAMA NA received a Supreme Court resolution stating that it had received the letter. “At the very least, we can confirm that the Supreme Court has discussed its related cases,” TAMA NA said. The group hoped that the court would issue a new ruling related to their letter.

Amid these technical obstacles, TAMA NA said Duterte has still not answered the public’s question about where she spent the plundered public funds. “Where is the ₱625 million, who exactly are Grace Piattos, Nova, Oishi, et al? How can she explain the sudden increase in her personal wealth?” the group asked. These, it added, clearly explain why Duterte is not fit to replace Marcos as president.

The youth group LAYAS Duterte Network also responded to Duterte’s statement. “She assumes too much; Sara Duterte should be headed for prison, not Malacañang. She should join Marcos in prison. They are both thieves, oppressors, and fascists,” network leader and Anakbayan chairperson Mhing Gomez said.

These groups will join the protest Baha sa Luneta 2.0 led by the Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (KBKK, or People’s Movement Against Corruption). The demonstration will be held at Luneta Park in Manila, with parallel protests nationwide. The group primarily calls to: “Hold everyone involved accountable!”

“From the simple call to ‘hold the corrupt accountable’ to deeper demands for Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte to resign and to change the rotten governing system, all legitimate clamor of the people have space and must be heard,” KBKK stated regarding the protest.