MONTHS OF DELAY over a constitutional provision which requires immediate action is worse, but remanding a verified impeachment complaint is far more unacceptable, according to members of the House of Representatives.
“The Senate set a dangerous precedent. It was a clear breach of their duty at saka, a breach of public trust,” House impeachment prosecutor and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said in reference to the decision of the Senate — sitting as impeachment court, to return the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
This comes as the House of Representatives hinted at recalibrating its next moves after the Senate impeachment court voted in favor of a tamed motion to remand the impeachment case back to the House, which must now certify that it did not violate the constitution and that it remains willing to prosecute the case beyond the 19th Congress.
‘[R]eturning the case to the lower body was an abrogation of responsibility that would see it ultimately disappear. Remanding is a functional dismissal … being dismantled brick by brick.’
DEFYING CONSTITUTION
According to Defensor, what the Senate did is a direct affront against the 1987 Constitution.
“To remand is not an option. It is either acquit or convict after trial. Malinaw na pagsagasa ito sa ating Konstitusyon at sa ating demokrasya,” the Ilonggo congressman was quoted as saying during a radio interview.
Act Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro likewise took a swipe at the Senate over what she aptly described as an “unconstitutional maneuver”.
“Walang mga ganoong procedure. Kapag na-verify, natanggap na ng Senado yung articles of impeachment, ang kailangan na lang nila gawin ay i-trial na—hindi yung parang tatanungin pa kami, ibabalik sa amin pa, wala na sa amin yung jurisdiction. Kaya talagang nakakabaliw, nakakatawa itong ginagawa ng mga senador,” the militant lady legislator said.
“Talagang hanggang madi-dribble nila, dini-dribble nila at talagang hanggang madi-delay nila ang impeachment trial, ginagawa lahat,” she added.
TAMED RESOLUTION
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa who has openly admitted owing his political career to former President Rodrigo Duterte, filed a motion to dismiss the impeachment case against VP Sara.
Citing the 1987 constitution which allows filing of just one impeachment complaint against an official per year, accused the House of Representatives of committing multiple infractions for 2025 alone.
The motion, which was later amended in favor of sending the case back to the House, managed to secure 18 affirmative votes with only five objections.
According to Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who voted against the motion, returning the case to the lower body was an abrogation of responsibility that would see it ultimately disappear.
“Remanding is a functional dismissal,” she said, later adding the impeachment complaint was “being dismantled brick by brick.”
EXTREMELY ALARMING
Earlier, faculty members of the UP College of Law, including Professor Michael Tiu, lambasted moves to declare the impeachment against Duterte functionally dismissed.
“VP Sara’s impeachment trial is in limbo,” said Tiu who described the act of remanding a verified impeachment complaint back to the lower house as “extremely alarming.”
Tiu said the Senate’s “unprecedented” move lacked basis in the constitution because it mandates the chamber to act on the articles of impeachment after receiving it from the House.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the two chambers are constitutionally equal bodies with exclusive impeachment powers — only the House can initiate impeachment cases, which the Senate would try to decide.
“The Senate has no authority to second-guess the House,” an obviously pissed off Tiu quipped.
VIABLE OPTIONS
Those pushing for the impeachment trial have two options after the Senate’s move, namely to raise the issue before the Supreme Court and exert public pressure on the senators, Tiu said.
“We can communicate to our senator-judges na ito ang view ng taumbayan kasi constituent tayo ng mga yan. Tayo yung kanilang dapat pinagsisilbihan,” he said.
“Invested dapat ang taong bayan dito… You can call your senator-judges.”