THE House of Representatives and the Senate can carry out their constitutional responsibilities in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte while continuing to focus on the economic concerns that matter most to Filipinos, an OCTA Research fellow said Saturday.
University of the Philippines Assistant Professor and OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye made the appeal during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, saying that while the impeachment proceedings are part of the constitutional responsibilities of the House and the Senate, Congress should continue giving equal attention to legislative and budgetary measures that address the everyday concerns of Filipinos.
“Trabaho ng House at tsaka Senate ‘yan, kasi ‘yung power of the purse nasa kanila eh. Sana hindi ho matanggal ang focus habang ginagampanan natin ang constitutional roles natin dito sa impeachment,” Rye said.
According to OCTA Research’s first-quarter 2026 survey, the top urgent national concerns of adult Filipinos are controlling the increase in prices of basic goods and services (45%), improving wages and salaries of workers (33%), fighting graft and corruption in government (26%), access to affordable food such as rice, vegetables, and meat (24%), and reducing poverty (20%). The same ranking was observed across all socioeconomic classes.
On the personal level, Filipinos’ top concerns are staying healthy and avoiding illness (67%), having enough to eat every day (46%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (42%), building savings (41%), and finishing schooling or providing education for their children (39%).
Rye stressed that these figures should effectively set the legislative agenda, especially as the budget season is underway and Congress is expected to conduct deliberations on the 2027 national budget later this year.
“Kung matalino lang ang politiko, ‘yun lang ang babasahin nila. ‘Yun ang agenda nila for the next year. Kasi ‘yun ho ang sinasabi ng mga kababayan natin—ano ang dapat bigyan ng pansin ng solusyon ng ating gobyerno in the next three months,” he said.
“‘Yan ang importanteng kailangan hindi natin makalimutan habang nililitis natin ang impeachment sa Senado, na the both Houses should focus on what Filipinos yearn. They yearn for a solution to the everyday problems and they’re all economic,” he added.
The political science professor also noted that while economic concerns dominate the public’s priorities, a significant and growing share of Filipinos have also flagged corruption as an urgent issue, which is a relatively new development in OCTA’s surveys.
Fighting graft entered the top five urgent national concerns only in the fourth quarter of 2025 and has remained there through the first quarter of 2026.
“Was it an urgent issue last year? Two years before? Hindi. Was it a top 10 issue, yes. Pero ngayon, it continues to be an issue,” Rye said.
“Sa mga kababayan natin, nakikita nila ‘yung hirap ng buhay, kailangan ng tulong, kailangan ng ayuda, kailangan ng government programs to help the poor, pero may one political issue na sinasabi sila: fighting corruption,” he added.
He argued that this shift in public sentiment should compel Congress to treat ongoing corruption-related investigations not merely as political exercises, but as opportunities to institute lasting reforms.
“Importante ‘tong imbestigasyon sa flood control, pero mas importante ‘yung mga solusyon. Ano ‘yung gagawin natin moving forward to prevent corruption from being systemic, [na] matigil na ‘yan?” he said.
With the Senate impeachment trial expected to begin as early as July, Rye said the challenge for both chambers is to fulfill their constitutional mandate while remaining responsive to what Filipinos are asking their government to solve.
