House certifies Duterte impeachment as lawful

Metro Manila, Philippines - The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution which certified that its impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte fully complied with the Constitution.

During the final plenary session of the 19th Congress on Wednesday, June 11, lawmakers voted in favor of House Resolution 2346.

The chamber also deferred the acceptance of the remanded Articles of Impeachment from the Senate, sitting as the Impeachment Court, until the court responds to the clarifications raised by House prosecutors.

The House prosecution team was supposed to read the Articles of Impeachment at the Senate on Wednesday. But the Impeachment Court returned the case to the House to resolve processes.

In remanding the case, the Impeachment Court asked the House to certify that it did not violate the one-year ban on impeachment proceedings in transmitting the fourth case and to ensure that the 20th Congress will pursue the complaint.

San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Zamora, a prosecutor, noted that under the Constitution, impeachment complaints should be included in the order of business in 10 session days, which the House did.

The three impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed in December. The fourth complaint, which was transmitted to the Senate, was tackled in plenary on Feb. 5, archiving the first three cases.

“February 5 fell as the 10th session day. This is different po from calendar days,” Zamora said. “The three impeachment complaints were calendared, were included in the order of business on February 5.”

Meanwhile, another impeachment prosecutor, Batangas Rep. Jinky Luistro, said the team cannot comply with the second condition of the Impeachment Court.

“They’re asking for reconfirmation of the 20th Congress, whether it will pursue the impeachment complaint against the vice president. How can this order be complied when the 20th Congress does not yet exist?” she said.

Seeking clarifications on the conditions, the panel will submit a motion to the Impeachment Court.

Representative-prosecutor Joel Chua, meanwhile, raised the senator-judges’ mandate following moves in the court to junk the case.

“Ang trabaho po ng Senado bilang Impeachment Court ay to try at hindi po mag-dismiss,” the Manila congressman said.

[Translation: The Senate’s job as an impeachment court is to try and not dismiss the case.]

Trial to proceed

Luistro said the trial will proceed as the Impeachment Court already issued summons to Duterte.

She said the court has acquired jurisdiction over Duterte.

“We hope that all issues which are being raised in the Impeachment Court will be tackled as well in the answer of the Vice President,” the lawmaker said.

“Tuloy na tuloy na ang [The] impeachment trial [will push through]. No one can stop this anymore,” she added.

The House impeached Duterte for graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes.

This is the first time a vice president was impeached.