THE 11-man prosecution panel of the House of Representatives yesterday complied with the order of the Senate impeachment court for it to issue a certification that the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte did not violate the constitutional one-year ban on the filing of more than one impeachment complaint, while insisting that the court’s order to remand the complaint to the House is illegal.
While meeting the court’s first order, the prosecution has yet to comply with its second order for the House to issue a certification that the incoming 20th Congress still intends to pursue the case. The current 19th Congress will end on June 30. The prosecution earlier raised the need for the court to clarify the order, saying it is impossible to comply with it when the 20th Congress has yet to be convened.
The certification that was submitted yesterday affirmed that the House fully complied with constitutional requirements when it impeached Duterte in February when 215 lawmakers signed and endorsed the seven Articles of Impeachment against her.
The prosecution submitted an enrolled copy of House Resolution No. 328, based on House Resolution No. 2346, which the plenary adopted on June 11, “attesting to the fact that the impeachment proceedings initiated on February 5, 2025 against the Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines, Sara Zimmerman Duterte, fully complied with Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the 1987 Constitution and the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings of the House of Representatives, including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints.”
Duterte’s defense lawyers earlier filed an “answer ad cautelam” (with caution) to the impeachment complaint and sought the dismissal of the Articles of Impeachment against her for allegedly violating the constitutional ban.
The prosecution clarified that “this submission is without waiver of the prosecution’s position that there is no legal basis for the return of the Articles of Impeachment forwarded to the Senate in accordance with the 1987 Constitution.”
The prosecution earlier deferred compliance with the court’s order pending the clarification of some issues surrounding the decision of 18 of 23 of the senator-judges to remand the Articles of Impeachment to the House.
The prosecution panel also filed a separate manifestation before the court resubmitting its entry of appearance without any reservation or qualification, which is the opposite of the submissions of the defense team, which refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the impeachment court by filing an answer ad cautelam, which manifests the defense’s objections to the court’s jurisdiction and procedures.
“The House of Representatives through the public prosecutors, unto this Honorable Impeachment Court, most respectfully re-submit their entry of appearance with motion to issue summons dated 14 March 2025, previously filed by the prosecution on 25 March 2025, which remains in the record together with the Articles of Impeachment that remain lodged with the court,” the manifestation said.
“In contrast to the appearance ad cautelam dated 16 June 2025 filed by the counsels for the respondent, Sara Zimmerman Duterte, there is no reservation, limitation or other qualification of any kind on the part of the undersigned public prosecutors,” it added.
The submission was signed by House minority leader Marcelino Libanan, leader of the prosecution team which also furnished the Vice President and her defense team firm Fortun Narvasa & Salazar with copies.
The pleadings were filed by House Records Management Service Director Billy Uy with the Clerk of Court at past noon.
House spokesperson Princess Abante took exception to the statement of Senate President Francis Escudero that the House has been making the impeachment process difficult, saying the lower chamber only wants the trial to proceed “forthwith” as mandated by the Constitution.
In a briefing, she said the House did not accept the Articles of Impeachment after it was “remanded” because the plenary last June 11 decided against it, pending clarification.
Abante also clarified why the House refused to accept the entry of appearance in the impeachment court of the defense counsels, saying the document did not have a cover letter and the person who delivered it to the House could not explain what it was for.
Abante also warned the public against accusing senators of being biased in favor of the Vice President because of the court’s actions that have delayed the proceedings.
“I wouldn’t want to make any speculations. We expect and assume that the senator-judges, in all of their actions in these proceedings, are acting with impartiality,” she said when asked if she believes Duterte has found an ally in the impeachment court.
DEFENSE SPOX
Duterte yesterday announced that lawyer Michael Poa, who is a member of her 16-man defense team, will also act as the group’s spokesperson.
Poa was y Duterte’s spokesman in the Office of the Vice President and before that, the Department of Education when she was still education secretary.
The Vice President, who just returned from Melbourne, Australia where she met with supporters last Sunday, also defended her frequent foreign trips in the face of her impending impeachment trial, saying Malacañang has no right to question it since she is spending her own money.
“Alam mo kasi, hindi kasi nila naiintindihan. Sorry ah, hindi ko alam if sinasadya nila na ayaw intindihin o bobo lang yung nasa administration. I’d like to lean doon sa latter kasi sa lahat ng mga decision nila lately (You know, they just don’t understand. Sorry, but I don’t know if they’re refusing to understand it on purpose or the administration is just dumb. I’d like to lean more towards the latter because of all their decisions lately),” she said.
Duterte was reacting to Palace spokesman Claire Castro who earlier said Duterte’s obligations and duties to the public may be affected by her frequent foreign trips.
She continued to criticize the administration just a month before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month, saying “the state of the nation is dire, it is sad, and for me personally, it is frustrating.”
Duterte, however, said she still believes the Philippines can still be a “superpower” someday, “for as long as there are Filipinos who believe that we can do it.”
JURISDICTION
Escudero said t the impeachment court has not lost jurisdiction over the impeachment complaint despite the return order.
Escudero was reacting to the answer ad cautelam of the Vice President, to the summons issued by the impeachment court, where Duterte she said she cannot be compelled to answer the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment because the articles were ordered returned to the House.
Escudero, in a press conference at the Senate, said the impeachment court’s order is clear.
“That is the argument by one side. But, I refer you back to the order itself … It was written there ‘return without dismissing nor terminating the case,’” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
He said he would not comment further on Duterte’s argument.
Escudero said the House prosecutors will be given five days to reply to the Vice President response.
Since the five days will lapse on June 28, which is a Saturday, Escudero said the House will be given up June 30 (Monday) at 12 noon to file its response.
He said the impeachment court will determine if the first compliance of the House is valid when the court convenes.
Escudero also said he cannot grant the request of the House prosecution panel to immediately schedule the trial proper after the impeachment court receives its response because the prosecutors’ authority will expire on June 30, when the 19th Congress officially ends, and the trial cannot proceed with only one party present.
Escudero said that his earlier proposed calendar, that the trial will most like end in October, may not happen.
“What surprised us was the authority of the prosecutors because the Senate is different from the House. I have until 2028 to serve as senator, but the prosecutors, the congressmen, only have until June 30,” he said in Filipino.
He said the impeachment court’s order will not be taken back even if the House has submitted its compliance with the first order to certify on the one-year bar rule because the House still has to comply with the second order — attest that the 20th Congress House is still interested in pursuing the impeachment complaint. – With Raymond Africa
