The Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) on Monday said that multiple youth leaders were poised to deliver an open letter to Senate President Chiz Escudero urging him, “to step down as presiding judge of the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.”
The letter, which according to SPARK would be signed by 24 student councils and academic organizations from various schools, stated that delays in the impeachment process under Escudero’s leadership have “created a toxic environment for public discourse.”
“If the Senate under Escudero still wishes to maintain its mandate to try this case without fear or favor, then the Senate President himself must take unprecedented action and recuse himself from the impeachment proceedings forthwith,” SPARK national spokesperson, Milo Basuel, said in a statement.
SPARK members also planned to tie symbolic red ribbons around the Senate complex, demanding a credible impeachment process and accountability from all government officials, he added.
The militant youth group argued that the continued delay of the impeachment proceedings has not only “squandered the legitimacy of the Senate” but also pointed to the “bias of its presiding officer.”
