Plurality of Filipinos believe the Senate is deliberately delaying the start of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, based on the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released on Tuesday, July 8.

The Second Quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey, conducted from June 25 to 29 with 1,200 respondents, found that 44 percent believe the Senate is intentionally stalling the proceedings, while 25 percent do not believe so, and 22 percent were undecided. 

This yields a net belief score of +19 (percent who believe minus percent who do not).

Only 9 percent of respondents said they did not have enough knowledge about the issue to give an opinion.

The impeachment complaint, which was filed in December 2024 and signed by 215 of 306 members of the House of Representatives in February 2025, was transmitted to the Senate earlier this year but has yet to move toward trial.

SWS found that belief in a Senate delay is prevalent across the country, except in Mindanao, where Vice President Duterte hails from.

Belief that the Senate is delaying the impeachment trial was highest in Balance Luzon, with a net score of +27 (49 percent believe, 22 percent not believe), followed by Metro Manila at +20 (46 percent believe, 26 percent not believe), and the Visayas at +16 (41 percent believe, 25 percent not believe).

Meanwhile, Mindanao recorded a net belief score of +6 (35 percent believe, 29 percent do not believe).

Mindanao also recorded the highest percentage of undecided respondents at 25 percent, while Metro Manila had the lowest at 17 percent.

The survey also asked respondents for their opinion on the impeachment complaint itself. 

Nationally, 32 percent agreed with the complaint, 42 percent disagreed, and 18 percent were undecided, resulting in a net agreement score of –10. 

Only 7 percent said they did not have enough knowledge about the issue.

Support was strongest in Metro Manila, which posted a net agreement score of +12 (44 percent agree, 32 percent disagree), followed by Balance Luzon with +7 (40 percent agree, 33 percent disagree).

Opposition was most pronounced in Mindanao, which registered a net agreement score of –52 (13 percent agree, 65 percent disagree), followed by the Visayas with –18 (28 percent agree, 46 percent disagree).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday also expressed concern over the Senate’s delay in proceeding with the impeachment trial.

In a pastoral letter released after their plenary assembly in Bohol, the bishops said they were “disturbed” by the lack of progress on what they described as a “constitutional demand” to proceed with the impeachment.

“We are disturbed by the delay in the Senate in executing the constitutional demand for the impeachment process of the Vice President,” the CBCP said.

The bishops pointed out that impeachment remains a “legitimate democratic mechanism for transparency and accountability in governance.”

The Church leaders also urged Filipino Catholics to reject “moral indifference” and engage in national issues with openness and faith.

“We call on our faithful to combat moral indifference, listen to all sides with openness, and foster a culture of engaged citizenship rooted in our Christian faith,” the CBCP said.