Metro Manila, Philippines – The House of Representatives must respect the decision to remand the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Chiz Escudero said, responding to House Speaker Martin Romualdez who slammed the return order.
“Iyan ang pasya ng impeachment court. Bilang mga taga-usig, dapat nilang galangin at sundin yun. Kapareho din sa parte ni VP Sara; dapat galangin at sundin din yung summons na in-issue ng impeachment court,” said Escudero, the presiding officer of the Impeachment Court, in a chance interview on Thursday, June 12.
[Translation: That is the decision of the impeachment court. As prosecutors, they should respect and comply with it. The same goes for VP Sara; she should also respect and comply with the summons issued by the impeachment court.]
Romualdez earlier said the court decision was “deeply concerning” as the House of Representatives followed the law, honored its mandate, and “stood for what the Filipino people deserve.”
The remand stemmed from the amended motion of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who, in his capacity as senator-judge, initially asked to dismiss the impeachment case even without an appeal from Duterte and in the absence of a trial.
Senator-judges then voted on the amendment proposed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to send the complaint back to the House of Representatives “without dismissing or terminating the case.” Eighteen senators, including the Senate president, favored the motion, while five others opposed.
Escudero also rejected the claim of Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros that the motion seemed to be planned.
“Pwede nilang sabihin kung anong nais nilang sabihin pero wala kaming tinago at wala kaming kinubli,” he said.
[Translation: They can say what they want to say but we didn’t hide anything from them.]
Meanwhile, Escudero said the Impeachment Court has not yet received any pleading from the House of Representatives on the impeachment case.
The House earlier deferred the acceptance of the remanded Articles of Impeachment from the Senate until the court responds to the clarifications raised by House prosecutors.
“Balita pa lamang naman yan sa media at wala pa kaming pormal na natatanggap. Tulad ng sinabi ko, ngayong andyan na ang korte, lahat ng komunikasyon ay dapat sa pamamagitan ng pleading at hindi sa social media,” he said.
[Translation: That is just news from the media, and we have not formally received anything yet. As I said, now that the court is involved, all communication should be done through pleadings and not on social media.]
