By Fil Sionil
In our political history, it is a rare if not unsettling moment for the country’s two highest-elected leaders to be facing impeachment proceedings at the same time.
If politics followed fashion, one might call it “twinning.” Matching outfits, matching controversies. The term may be new, but the concept is not. Still, the comparison ends there. This is not coordinated chic. It is institutional stress.
The impeachment moves against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte were not acts of deliberate symmetry. They were either calculated gambits or spontaneous eruptions depending on which side of the aisle you stand. Either way, they were hardly unexpected. The warning signs have been flashing for months.
What this does, however, is inject a fresh dose of political risk into an already cautious business environment.
Malacañang did not sugarcoat it. The President, the Palace said, is anxious not for himself but for the potential fallout on the domestic economy. Markets can absorb bad news. They price it in, move on, and recalibrate. What they struggle with is uncertainty over leadership itself.
This is where nerves begin to fray.
Impeachment proceedings involving the nation’s top elected leaders send a troubling signal, especially to foreign investors scanning headlines from afar. It creates the impression of a country quick to destabilize its own leadership.
“This is not good. The outside world will think we are a very indecisive nation. If we don’t like a person, we just impeach!” says Marivic, who runs a family business and is now expanding into retail and consumer ventures.
Her concern cuts deeper when the possibility of unseating leaders enters the picture. “We do not want a senator or a congressman to be president.” Under the Constitution, the Senate president or failing that, the House speaker steps in as caretaker should both the president and vice president be removed.
That scenario may be remote, but markets are paid to imagine worst cases.
The twin impeachment efforts come at a particularly awkward time. The government is courting foreign capital, selling stability, continuity, and reform. Political noise of this magnitude risks undercutting that pitch. In the short term, volatility is almost inevitable.
A market mover expects the usual defensive reactions: profit-taking, a tilt toward safe-haven assets, and a wait-and-see posture from foreign funds. That view was reflected almost immediately, with equities closing in the red on Monday as investors digested the political drama alongside soft economic data.
Still, panic may be premature.
Despite the unease, there is a compelling case that any market pullback could prove temporary. The deeper anchor remains the country’s economic fundamentals.
Over the medium to long term, markets tend to price in the strength and continuity of institutions rather than individual personalities. Provided that due process is observed, governance remains intact, and the current economic management team continues to function effectively.
For now, the country watches equal parts spectator and stakeholder as this political telenovela unfolds. The plot is thickening, the stakes are high, and the ending is far from written.
In the meantime, ’nuff said.
