Impeachment Court sends Duterte case back to House, issues summons

Metro Manila, Philippines - In surprising twists, the Senate finally convened as the Impeachment Court on Tuesday, June 10, only to return the charge list to the House of Representatives.

Scheduled for the day was the oath-taking of senator-judges at 4 p.m. in preparation for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

However, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa preempted the proceedings by a privilege speech and moved to dismiss the impeachment case.

He argued that the verified Articles of Impeachment transmitted by the House violated the Constitution’s one-year bar on initiating new impeachment proceedings, as well as the House’s own rules.

In an earlier statement, Duterte’s defense team said it would question the complaint before the court on a similar line of reasoning - violation of the one-year ban.

After a heated debate, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero ruled that Dela Rosa’s motion could only be addressed by the impeachment court.

This led to the oath-taking of senator-judges, which took place after 6 p.m., that led to the convening of the Impeachment Court.

Senators then expressed conflicting views, with Senator Christopher “Bong” Go suggesting a remand rather than outright dismissal.

“At the very least, pag-aralan natin ito ng mabuti, baka naman maaari natin itong ibalik o i-remand muna natin,” Go said.

[Translation: At the very least, let’s examine this thoroughly - perhaps we can just return it or remand it for now.]

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano later amended Dela Rosa’s motion, proposing that the Articles of Impeachment be “returned to the House of Representatives, without dismissing or terminating the case.”

The amended motion included two conditions: first, that the Articles of Impeachment remain with the House until it certifies that the approval of the fourth impeachment complaint did not violate the Constitution; and second, that the House of the 20th Congress communicate its willingness and readiness to pursue the complaint.

Eighteen senators voted in favor of the motion, and five opposed it.

Those who voted against were Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, and Senators Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, and Win Gatchalian.

Not a dismissal?

Hontiveros argued that the Impeachment Court could have simply sought clarification from the House prosecutors rather than remanding the complaint.

“Wala pong remand o return sa Konstitusyon. Ang obligation natin- try and decide,” Hontiveros said.

[Translation: There is no provision in the Constitution for a remand or return. Our obligation is to try and decide,]

She also emphasized that returning the complaint effectively ends the proceedings — a point Escudero disputed.

“It is not a dismissal,” Escudero responded.

“Ano man ang mangyari, mag-iissue tayo ng summons [Whatever happens, we will issue a summons],” he added.

Escudero then ordered the issuance of summons to Duterte, directing her to respond to the Articles of Impeachment within ten days.

But considering that the second condition involves lawmakers of the 20th Congress, the Articles of Impeachment may only be transmitted back to the Senate in July, Gatchalian said.