THE Senate minority bloc yesterday moved to compel Senate President Francis Escudero to convene the chamber as an impeachment court so they can start with the impeachment process, with only two days left before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 13.
“Mr. President, any further delay not only undermines the explicit mandate of the Constitution and our Rules. It risks eroding public trust in the Senate’s capacity to uphold the accountability of public officers and the rules of law. Not only do many believe that the Senate is heading to a ‘no trial’ scenario, worse, many have opined that, simply by inaction, by merely refusing to convene as the impeachment court, the Senate seems to believe that it can effectively dismiss or defeat an impeachment complaint duly filed and transmitted by the House of Representatives,” said Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said in a privilege speech.
Late last night, Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court before Senate Secretary Renato Bantug. Sen. Joel Villanueva then moved to have senators take their oath today at 4 p.m.
As agreed on, the senators will constitute, but not yet the impeachment court.
Pimentel, in his privilege speech, said that under Rule 10 of the Senate’s Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, once the Senate transforms itself into an impeachment court, all legislative businesses of the Senate, if any, “shall be suspended so that the business of the trial can proceed.”
He said the failure of the Senate leadership to act “forthwith” on the impeachment complaints has placed the upper chamber itself “on trial” by the public.
“The root cause of this is the apprehension of the people, based on recent pronouncements and developments, that there will be ‘no’ impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte. Respected academic institutions and other organizations have spoken with one voice: ‘We call on the Senate of the Philippines to comply with its constitutional duty to ‘forthwith proceed’ with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte,” he said.
Pimentel clarified that what he asked for is the constitutional duty of the Senate to proceed with the impeachment process and not whether the impeached officer is already guilty or not. He then asked Escudero to immediately convene the Senate as an impeachment court.
“In light of these, and in accordance with our solemn obligation and duty under the Constitution, I respectfully move: 1) that our legislative business be suspended; 2) that we already convene as the impeachment court at this very moment, 3) that the Senate president immediately take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court, 4) that thereafter, the Senate president/presiding officer administer the oath or affirmation to all members of the Senate now present, 5) that the impeachment court then call the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte and come up with a calendar for the trial thereof,” he said.
“Number 6, that tomorrow June 10, 2025, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the impeachment court call the impeachment case for the presentation and reading of the Articles of Impeachment by the panel of prosecutors of the House of Representatives, and 7) that thereafter, the writ of summons be issued to the impeached officer,” Pimentel added.
Questions and clarifications led to a suspension of session.
After hours of closed-door compromise negotiations, the senators returned to the session hall at about 8:30 p.m., with Villanueva saying Pimentel has agreed to amend his motion, and that was to first refer the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Committee on Rules, and then Escudero take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on Monday night.
No one objected to the motions.
Villanueva said the other senators will take their oath as impeachment court judges today.
But Sen. Ronald dela Rosa asked if their oath-taking will trigger the Senate to convene as an impeachment court on the same day, to which Pimentel replied in the affirmative.
This led Dela Rosa to object, saying the impeachment court should have to be convened on Wednesday.
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS
Pimentel said the allegations against the Vice President are serious matters which demand “nothing less than a prompt and faithful discharge of our constitutional duties.”
“The Senate president refused to convene the Senate as the impeachment court from February to May 2025 because he believes that the Senate could not act on the Articles of Impeachment while it is not in legislative session. We have an honest difference of opinion on this matter,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said that in his opinion, the Senate should have convened as an impeachment court even if Congress was on break from February 7 to June 1.
“This conclusion is bolstered by the base of Pimentel Jr. v. Joint Committee of Congress which involved the function of the Senate as part of the National Board of Canvassers for President and Vice President, a function which is found in Art. 7 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court rules in this case that ‘the legislative functions of the 12th Congress may have come to an end upon the final adjournment of its regular session on June 11, 2004, but this does not affect its non-legislative functions,” he said.
“It is therefore undeniable that the Senate has duties and functions that are not legislative in nature … Unlike the provisions concerning the Commission on Appointments, there is no similar constitutional limitation found in Art. 11 on when the Senate as an impeachment court can convene, meet, or hold sessions in order to perform its functions … Wala pong sinasabi na ang Senado (there was nothing stated that the Senate) as the impeachment court ‘shall meet only while the Congress is in session,” he added.
He said the Senate could have created the impeachment court from February to May 2025 but it is already “water which has passed under a bridge.”
He said the remedy the Senate can take is to immediately convene as an impeachment court.
Deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros seconded Pimentel’s motion.
“Forthwith and with no further delay, the Senate president must be placed under oath as presiding officer. Then he must administer the oath to the members of the Senate as judges of the impeachment court and most importantly, the Articles of Impeachment which have long languished in limbo, must forthwith be presented to the body,” she said.
Hontiveros said that Article 11 of the Constitution on the Accountability of Public Officers, states that once a verified complaint is filed by at least one-third of all the members of the House of Representatives, it shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment and trial by the Senate “shall forthwith proceed.”
“The Constitution is not primarily a lawyer’s document but essentially that of the people, in whose consciousness it should ever be present as an important condition for the rule of law to prevail,” she said.
Villanueva said he supports Pimentel’s motion but asked what will happen to the notice sent to the House prosecutors to formally present the Articles of Impeachment on June 11, which will then trigger the creation of the impeachment court.
Pimentel said the Senate can issue another notice to the House informing its members that the upper chamber has moved the presentation at an earlier date.
OBLIGATION
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian reminded his colleagues that convening as an impeachment court is an obligation of the Senate.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said that with only two days left in the 19th Congress, it is better if the Senate will tackle key legislation than use its remaining time in convening into an impeachment court.
“Yes, I want accountability but between today (Monday) and Wednesday, I’d rather pass the Konektadong Pinoy and e-governance, and all bills which are pending,” he said in the plenary.
The Konektadong Pinoy, which aims to bring internet costs down, and the e-Governance Act, which seeks to digitalize and streamline government services, are sponsored by Cayetano and already on the final stage of the legislative process with their bicameral conference reports pending ratification.
He said that if these bills are not ratified before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 13, they will go back to square one in the 20th Congress.
OPINIONS
Escudero said he decided to start with the impeachment process on June 11 instead of June 2 due to the expected differing opinions of senators, which they will surely bring up in plenary that will take time.
He also said valedictory speeches of the “graduating senators” were scheduled Tuesday as they will no longer tackle priority measures.
He said it was the House which dilly-dallied with the first batch of impeachment complaints filed even as if its own rules state that the lower chamber should have acted “immediately” on it with the House secretary general transmitting it to the Office of the Speaker.
“It is also stated in the rules of the House that the Speaker should refer the complaints to the Committee on Justice. Why is it important? Because according to the Supreme Court decision on the Francisco case, it is there when the one-year ban in filing the second, third, or even fourth impeachment complaint can be filed,” he said in Filipino.
He said the House secretary general did not act on the complaint until it was transmitted to the Senate on February 5, the last day of the regular session of Congress before it took a break for the midterm elections.
Also, he said, groups or individuals now criticizing the Senate where nowhere when the House did not act on the impeachment complaints against the Vice President.
PROTEST ACTIONS
Civil society groups yesterday started their three-day rally in front of the Senate compound to compel the chamber to immediately convene as an impeachment court.
In a statement, the civil society groups said that the Senate should listen to the growing clamor for it to convene as an impeachment court so it can start with the trial of the Vice President.
“This is no longer just an opposition campaign. More and more people are stepping forward because the Senate refuses to. Universities, law schools, religious denominations, legal and constitutional luminaries, business leaders, and trade unions — are all very clear on their call. The only obstacle is the Senate leadership, who seem either afraid or determined to protect the impeached Vice President,” said Akbayan party president Rafaela David.
David specifically called on the Senate president to “act with courage” in the impeachment process.
The protest action started at the Manila Film Center and the participants marched towards the Senate compound.
The organizers said there will be candle lighting vigil on Tuesday evening, and a Day of Action for Truth and Accountability on Wednesday.
Escudero said he will not be pressured by any protest actions or unsolicited legal advice from legal luminaries just to immediately convene the Senate as an impeachment court.
‘RESOLUTION’
Sen. Robin Padilla filed a resolution which seeks to declare the impeachment complaint terminated when the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 13.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 1371, Padilla said: “The Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte is one such pending matter and the consideration thereof is one such pending proceeding.”
“From all the foregoing, it is indubitably clear that the matter of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte and its consideration by the present Senate cannot be fully accomplished by the expiration of the 19th Congress on 30 June 2025, thereby resulting in its termination,” he added.
With this, he said the complaints against Duterte should be “declared as terminated” in accordance with Rule XLIV of the Rules of the Senate.
Escudero said a purported resolution which seeks the “de facto dismissal” of the complaint has not been filed as of Monday morning.
In a press conference, Escudero said he has not seen the supposed resolution as he only learned about it through media.
Last week, an unsigned draft resolution was reported to be making rounds among senators, apparently trying to gain signatures for support on the de facto dismissal of the impeachment complaint.
Dela Rosa later admitted the draft resolution came from his office. He said the complaint should be dismissed because the Senate violated the Constitution by failing to act on the Articles of Impeachment when they were transmitted by the House of Representatives to the upper chamber last February 5.
