Monday, May 11 was a day that started out exciting for the members and guests of the Monday Circle with Mamamayang Liberal Representative Leila De Lima as main guest and speaker, having been invited to give the group a fresh update on the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte with the voting happening later in the day.  

But little did anyone in the assembly, including De Lima herself, would have imagined what the day would turned out to be as it unfolded all the way in the afternoon.  

Fascinatingly, for those already old enough to remember, The Bangles’ 1986 hit song, “Manic Monday,” fittingly captured the overwhelmingly chaotic May 11 event, which started out to be excitedly promising but ended frustratingly fruitless.

The House of Representatives would approve the articles of impeachment, as De Lima assured earlier.  The vote exceeded the one-third threshold constitutional requirement, which if based on the total number of members of the lower house of 318 as of May 2026, would come to 106 votes only.  

As it turned out, 257 lawmakers voted in favor at the plenary session, 25 voted against the impeachment, while nine abstained.

Obviously triggered by the voting results in the lower house, a shakeup happened in the upper house. The Senate underwent a leadership change: Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was ousted, and Alan Peter Cayetano was elected as new Senate President.  

This shakeup in the Senate created an immediate uncertainty regarding the future of the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte, considering the election of Cayetano, a known ally of the Duterte family. 

An unintended consequence that provided some comic relief of “Manic Monday” was the attempted arrest of sitting Senator Rogelio “Bato” de la Rosa.  

The International Criminal Court or ICC confirmed on May 11 that a warrant for Dela Rosa was issued confidentially on November 6, 2025 and that it has been unsealed to be served anytime. The warrant declared that Dela Rosa was involved in the “common plan” to “neutralize” suspected drug users and dealers, which resulted in widespread killings.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents – with former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV ubiquitously around – attempted to serve the warrant at the Senate, leading to a tense stand-off and a funny chase within the premises.

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The Senate adopted a motion to place Dela Rosa under its “protective custody,” with new Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano stating the Senate will not allow the arrest of its members within its premises by international bodies.

Dela Rosa previously filed a petition with the Philippine Supreme Court to prevent his arrest and to stop the government from cooperating with the ICC. On the other hand, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla stated his department will enforce the warrant if it is validated and coursed through Interpol and after the documentation is validated by the Philippine local court system. 

Despite maintaining that no actionable warrant is in the DILG’s immediate possession, Remulla confirmed that the department had initiated preliminary preparations – including mapping out a potential 10,000-strong dragnet task force – to seamlessly mobilize the Philippine National Police (PNP) the moment a validated Interpol notice is received.

In the meantime, several senators have filed a resolution urging Dela Rosa to surrender voluntarily to face the charges, citing that the Senate should not be used as a sanctuary for those avoiding legal processes. 

Exodus into safe havens

What happened in the Senate is not an ordinary, normal political maneuvering among political actors.  Also, even while the act is a display of political brinkmanship, it set off a potentially serious political crises that could trigger capital flight and migration outside the country similar to what many Arab families are doing at present due to the increasingly unstable Middle East. 

Already in place that could move out as much as trillions of money outside of the country anytime is the result of the offer for citizenship by Spain to Filipino families. This is Spain’s “Ley de Nietos” or Grandchildren Law.  

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Many Filipino families quietly availed of this citizenship program of Spain as a “Plan B” should the Philippines become politically and economically challenged and unstable.

In 2022, Spain passed the “Law of Democratic Memory,” an expansion of the “2007 Historical Memory law.” This was Spain’s official way of reckoning with its past under dictator Francisco Franco. The law’s objective was to honor those who were exiled or persecuted and restore the rights their descendants may have lost in the process. Among those rights is Spanish nationality.  

In addition, Spain is not just granting citizenship purely based on birthplace. Especially to the Grandchildren Law, it adheres also to the principle of jus sanguinis or “right of blood” so that having been born in the Philippines is not a dealbreaker, what matters is whether you can prove a direct line to someone who was legally Spanish.

We were a Spanish colony for three centuries. During that period, many Spaniards settled in our islands, married locals, and spawned the rest of their family tree here. Additionally, those with more recent Spanish family members – particularly grandparents born in Spain – are also qualified to apply.  

The most common eligibility pathway through this process includes the following: you have a Spanish parent or grandparent; your Spanish ancestor was forced into exile either for political, religious, or ideological reasons; your grandmother lost her citizenship due to marrying a foreigner before 1978; and your parent gained citizenship under the old Historical Memory Law, and you missed out due to age.

Spain has created special considerations for nationals of former colonies. This is why, as noted by the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ), a special agreement between Spain and the Philippines allows Filipinos to acquire Spanish citizenship without renouncing their Philippine citizenship. In other words, you can become a dual citizen – no need to surrender your Philippine passport just yet.

Since the law took effect in October 2022, over 226,000 applications have reportedly been filed. A total of 110,540 are said to have been processed and approved. And since no report of rejection has been said about the remaining applications, it is assumed that their approval will just be a matter of time.  

Implications

Assuming an average capital flight of only P50 million from each of the approved 110,540 family applications, this will amount to P5.53 trillion out of the Philippine economy. This will devastate the country across several critical areas.

According to one economist, if executed gradually over a 12-month timeline, the macroeconomic threat may still lead to a chronic, grinding economic hollowing-out, instead of an instant structural collapse.  

Notably, private investment drops to near-zero; major conglomerates will pause expansions, and the job market contracts, driving up unemployment.  

By the 12th month, the ₱5.53 trillion money would have left the country. GDP growth will slow down significantly, dropping from a positive trajectory into a sharp -4% to -6% annual contraction. The peso would hover around P72 to P75 per US dollar. And the country would be trapped in a classic stagflationary crisis of high inflation, negative growth, and high unemployment. – Rappler.com

(You may reach the writer at densomera@yahoo.com)