La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V likened Vice President Sara Duterte's upcoming Senate impeachment trial to a big sports event that's worth the wait—such as the NBA Finals.

Ortega made this comparison over the weekend even as he told Filipinos not to lose sight of the high‑stakes trial against the second highest official of the land.

“Kung ano‑anong distraction, kung anu‑anong smokescreen. But focus lang tayo sa impeachment trial,” Ortega said.

Ortega said the public has waited long enough for the proceedings to begin.

“Ang dami na pong nangyari pero wala lahat ‘yan. Doon tayo sa NBA Finals. Focus lang tayo sa impeachment trial,” he said.

(So many things have happened but none of that matters. Let’s look at the NBA Finals. Let’s just focus on the impeachment trial.)

The recent NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs attracted a lot of attention, particularly after it resulted in the Knicks’ first NBA title in 53 years. Fil‑Am and Gilas Pilipinas standout Jordan Clarkson also won his first ring with the team.

Ortega says the Senate trial is the proper venue for addressing the allegations against the twice‑impeached Duterte and answering questions raised during congressional investigations.

Duterte was not put on trial last year despite her first impeachment.The Senate impeachment court held its pre‑trial conference on June 18 and is scheduled to begin trial proceedings on July 6.

Perhaps the biggest distraction from the trial is the reemergence of the 18 ex‑soldiers‑slash‑bagmen, who repeated allegations that administration figures led by President Marcos pocketed millions of payoffs from the flood control projects corruption scandal.

Those implicated have repeatedly denied the allegations and challenged the group to present evidence before the proper forum.

Without directly addressing the allegations, Ortega suggested that such controversies should not divert attention from the impeachment proceedings against Duterte.

He stressed that the trial will give both the prosecution and defense an opportunity to present evidence and arguments before the Senate impeachment court.

“‘Yun ang number one po na inaantabayanan, ‘yun po ang number one na kailangang sagutin. Kaya mas magandang tapusin na rin, matuldukan na,” Ortega said.

(That is the number one thing awaited, the number one thing that must be answered. So it’s better to finish it, to put an end to it.)

The Ilocano lawmaker says the proceedings are important regardless of the eventual outcome because they will establish facts and allow the public to hear the evidence presented by both sides.

“At the end of the day, naniniwala tayo na malakas ang ebidensya, na may conviction,” he said.

(At the end of the day, we believe the evidence is strong, that there will be a conviction.)