Metro Manila, Philippines – Senator Robin Padilla on Monday hinted that the minority bloc may oppose the convening of the impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, although his allies said the matter has yet to be discussed.
“Di ba ang papel naman ng minority is to oppose? Hindi lang impeachment. Lahat ng bagay dito ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose,” Padila told reporters in a chance interview.
[Translation: Isn’t it the role of the minority to oppose? Not just impeachment. In everything here, our job is to oppose.]
Asked specifically if they would oppose the convening of the impeachment court, Padilla replied, “natural lang yun.”
“Kayo naman, tagal niyo na dito. Basta minority, yan ang papel [You’ve all been here a long time. If you’re in the minority, that’s your role],” he added.
In separate interviews, minority senators said they have not yet taken up the issue.
“Wala pa kaming napag-uusapang ganun pero Robin has been very vocal [We haven’t discussed anything like that yet, but Robin has been very vocal],” Senator Imee Marcos said.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said the nine-member bloc had been scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the impeachment but had to postpone.
“Kulang kami, so we’ll reset the meeting parang kalahati lang nakapunta [We lacked quorum, so we’ll reset the meeting. Only about half were able to attend],” Cayetano said.
Marcos said the group was supposed to discuss strategies and possible actions in the event of a full-blown impeachment trial. She added that the minority bloc is already expecting the House of Representatives to impeach Duterte.
“Inaabangan na namin at palagay ko 106 votes madaling madaling makuha. So ineexpect na namin [We’re already anticipating it, and I think 106 votes will be very easy to get. So we’re expecting it],” she said, referring to the ⅓ vote needed to impeach Duterte.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, meanwhile, said he sees no issue with convening the impeachment court.
“Of course, we have to follow the Constitution,” he said.
‘Automatic’ convening
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, for his part, stressed that it is “automatic” for the chamber to convene as an impeachment court once it receives the articles of impeachment, in accordance with the Constitution.
“Trabaho namin yun. Kahit anong sabihin ng iba, ang importante dun, ang sinasabi ng Constitution, pag natanggap ang articles of impeachment, we convene as an impeachment court,” he said.
[Translation: That’s our job. No matter what others say, what matters is what the Constitution states: once the articles of impeachment are received, we convene as an impeachment court.]
He refused to speculate on what would happen if Padilla or any member of the minority opposed the move.
Sotto clarified that while convening the impeachment court would be done “forthwith”—or, for him, the day after receiving the articles—the trial proper would take time due to preparations. These include furnishing the impeached official with a copy of the articles, requiring responses from both the prosecution and defense, and conducting a pre-trial.
No coup
Padilla had earlier said he would prefer a pro-Duterte Senate president once the trial begins, but clarified he is not part of any effort to unseat Sotto.
Senator Erwin Tulfo, a member of the majority, expressed confidence that Sotto would remain in the post.
“I don’t think so. I think they cannot muster enough votes for that,” he said.
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