Defenders of Vice President Sara Duterte claim that efforts to make their idol accountable for her cavalier regard for public funds are a form of political persecution perpetuated by her enemies.

It’s because she is so popular, they say. Duterte herself bragged that she had the presidency in the bag in 2022 had the so-called Unity ticket not prevailed upon her to seek, instead,  the second-highest post.

Of course there is politics. This is why impeachment is on the table, even as the President said such an exercise would take too much of the country’s time and attention, away from gut economic issues that require our focus.

Of course there is politics, because the people who will indict and try Duterte are democratically elected representatives of their respective constituencies.

Of course there is politics, because the possible outcome would be the removal of an elected official from office — a woman from an influential family that still holds sway, albeit diminished, among millions  of Filipino voters. We can imagine the resulting narrative, and the venom that would go with it, that their diehards would push should Duterte be removed through this constitutional means.

But it is not just politics.

Apolitical agencies of the government, specifically the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, independent bodies outside the ambit of the executive and legislative branches, are also looking into the matter — and there are numerous reasons to dig deeper.

The argument that “confidential” funds entitle an office or official to be secretive, deceitful, and evasive about the use of taxpayers’ money does not fly. Accountability, after all, is the essence of public office.

Then, too, the cavalier way in which the Vice President and her allies approach the means of accountability required of their agencies — fabricating names to put on acknowledgment receipts, malingering, inventing trips backed by travel documents that do not indicate the destination — shows a low regard for democratic checks and balance and a deplorable sense of entitlement and impunity.

The issue is not just that the Philippine Statistics Authority has said that Mary Grace Piattos is not in the national registry. It is that some so-called public servants believe they could  get away with insulting our systems and our institutions.

So while the political spectacle has been set into motion, let us equally watch out for developments in the fraud audits and other investigations. These are guided by evidence that will be evaluated by entities that have no other mandate but to ferret out the truth and hold those responsible accountable for their abuses against the people.