Bong Go says no plan to block Sara Duterte's trial, vows to be impartial judge

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go — one of the most loyal allies of the Duterte family — said there is currently no agreement among senators to block the convening of an impeachment court against Vice President Sara Duterte.

"Hindi kami nag-uusap na harangan ang convening (we are not discussing plans to block the convening)," Go told reporters in a chance interview Monday, May 11, hours before the House plenary vote on the impeachment.

Go, who previously served former president Rodrigo Duterte's longtime aide, is seen as closer to the elder Duterte than to his daughter.  

He said it was senators' job to examine the evidence and "bring out the truth."

"There is no such talk. Block it? It's our mandate," Go said in Filipino. "I will be impartial... That's our job — to be impartial, and to let the truth come out."

The senator was candid in saying he would call out "liars" during the impeachment trial. 

"If I see — oh, this one is lying, I'll call it out, and I myself will speak up: 'hey, what is being said does not seem true,'" he said in Filipino. 

Go shared he was already forming impressions from the House proceedings, though he declined to weigh in on them directly." 

Of course. I just cannot comment on the lower house hearing, but it runs through my mind — there is a liar here, there is truth here, there are all different speculations," Go said in Filipino. "As a senator-judge, I will prepare for how the truth will come out. Because that is really what Filipinos want — to know the truth."

Go's statement marks a shift in tone from the previous round of impeachment proceedings, when he and fellow Duterte ally Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa moved to derail the trial for the vice president.

In June 2025, Go seconded Dela Rosa's motion to dismiss the case and floated remanding it to the House, a move that ultimately led 18 senators to vote to return the articles of impeachment to the lower chamber. 

The Supreme Court later ruled the original complaint unconstitutional, and the Senate voted 19-4 in August 2025 to archive it.

The House of Representatives will hold today an impeachment vote that party leaders and ranking lawmakers have described as a foregone conclusion. 

Duterte can only be impeached with the votes of 106 of the chamber's 318 members, the constitutional one-third needed for impeachment.

Once the House transmits the articles, the Senate is constitutionally required to convene as an impeachment court. 

A conviction requires a two-thirds vote — 16 of 24 senators — and would remove Duterte from office and bar her from holding future public office, including a widely expected 2028 presidential run.

Go, Dela Rosa, Sen. Robin Padilla, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and Sen. Imee Marcos are among the senators seen as highly sympathetic to Duterte.