A slim majority of Filipino adults believe that absent senator-judges shouldn’t be allowed to participate or vote in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial if they’re detained, on medical leave, or evading arrest, according to the October 2026 National Momentum Survey.
The non-commissioned survey, conducted from October 16 to 19, asked Filipino adults nationwide what they consider as acceptable reasons for senator-judges to be permitted to participate in the impeachment trial.
They were allowed to choose more than one reason from the list (i.e., detained, on medical leave, hiding from arrest) or say that none of them are considered acceptable reasons.
The survey found that 52% of Filipino adults don’t find any of the three listed reasons as acceptable for an absent senator-judge to be able to cast their vote in Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, around 32% say it is still acceptable for a currently detained senator-judge to participate in the impeachment trial.
Another 20% say medical leaves should be a justified reason. Hiding to evade arrest came out as the least acceptable reason to let an absent senate-judge vote (16%).
A combined 9% of Filipino adults, however, have yet to express their opinion on the matter, with 6% unsure and 2% refusing to answer.
The eligibility of a senator-judge to participate in the impeachment trial became a major issue since only 20 senators are considered present in the proceedings, and a two-thirds vote of all senators is constitutionally required to convict an impeachable official.
Those absent include Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, whose whereabouts are unknown as he faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant; Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Rodante
Marcoleta, who are both detained; and Sen. Loren Legarda, who is on medical leave abroad.
The Senate impeachment court voted 13-1, with six senator-judges not participating, in favor of excluding absent senator-judges from the vote count, specifically those who are detained, suspended, on medical leave, or refuse to attend proceedings due to other reasons like evading arrest.
By region
Across regions, Metro Manila (65%), the Rest of Luzon (56%), and Visayas (60%) believe that none of the mentioned reasons can be used as an excuse for a senator-judge to be allowed to participate in the impeachment trial while absent.
Mindanao veered slightly away from the general consensus, with 37% saying that those who are currently detained should still be allowed to vote — only about 6 percentage points ahead of those who believe none of the listed reasons are acceptable to let absent senator-judges vote.
By faction
When broken down by political affiliation, the majority of Filipino adults who identify as Pro-Opposition (75%), Pro-Marcos (63%), or Independent (57%) believe that none of the listed reasons are grounds to allow an absent senator-judge’s participation in the impeachment trial.
Only Pro-Duterte adults differ, with 49% saying that senator-judges who are in detention should still be allowed to vote
By generation
Across generations, Gen Z (60%), Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation (56%), and Gen X Filipinos (50%) all say that none of the listed reasons justifies allowing an absent senator-judge to vote in Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Millennials, on the other hand, are quite split between the general consensus that none of the listed reasons (45%) are acceptable and detention as an acceptable reason (43%).
Conducted from October 16 to 19, the National Momentum Survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,401 Filipino adults. It has a national margin of error of ±2.6 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Subnational margins of error are ±7.0% for the National Capital Region, ±3.8% for the Rest of Luzon (North, South, and Central Luzon), ±6.1% for Visayas, and ±5.8% for Mindanao — all at a 95% confidence level.
Find the complete survey results on our public dashboard at momentumresearch.ph.
