Impeachment in limbo

By Artchil B. Fernandez

At this time, the nation would have been hooked and riveted to a new political teleserye—the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte—had the Senate followed the Constitution. The Constitution [Section 3(4), Article XI] mandates that the Senate must proceed forthwith—“immediately, without delay”—on the trial of an impeached official once it receives the impeachment complaint from the House.

Yet, more than three weeks after the Senate received the impeachment complaint against the vice president, the Upper Chamber refused to even start the impeachment process. Senate President Chiz Escudero adamantly insists the Senate is on recess; hence, it cannot act on the impeachment complaint.

In Escudero’s vocabulary, forthwith is four months. The trial, according to Escudero’s proposed calendar, will start on June 2, with the trial proper commencing on July 30, 2025, after the president delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, 2025. The four-to-six-month gap is not a delay for Escudero, and this is what “immediately” means to him. How did he pass his English class?

Clearly, Escudero is up to something sinister by attempting to be the fulcrum of this historic event. He is holding the nation hostage to his whims and caprices. To whose advantage does the delay serve? Who benefits from Escudero’s machinations?

The decision of Escudero not to proceed with the trial after the Senate accepted the complaint has put the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte in limbo. The impeachment is now in the doldrums, blunting and dissipating the building momentum.

In the impeachments of President Erap Estrada and Chief Justice Renato Corona, the Senate followed the wording of the Constitution. The Senate immediately convened the impeachment court and proceeded with the trial. Not this time, under the helm of Escudero. The nation can wait. Immediately for Escudero means the Senate taking its time.

The pause gave the Dutertes and their allies the time and opportunity to challenge the impeachment of the vice president. A group of lawyers and city councilors from Davao City filed a petition before the Supreme Court to annul the impeachment case of Sara Duterte. They also sought the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Writ of Preliminary Injunction by the High Tribunal.

In a separate move, Sara Duterte also asked the Supreme Court to block her impeachment trial before the Senate. She petitioned for certiorari and prohibition, with an urgent application for a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction from the High Court. Her appeal asked for the nullification of the fourth impeachment complaint filed by the House “due to violation of the One-Year Bar under the aforesaid Constitutional provision.”

Had the Senate immediately convened the impeachment court, Sara Duterte would have been busy defending herself before the said body. Instead, the battle shifted to the Supreme Court. The High Tribunal this week directed the House to comment on the vice president’s petition questioning her impeachment. The House, not Sara Duterte, is on the defensive at the moment.

Escudero’s delay of the impeachment trial bought time for Sara Duterte to throw hurdles and impede the impeachment process. Those pushing for her impeachment, on the other hand, also asked the High Court to order the Senate to start the trial at once.

A mandamus petition was filed by lawyer Catalino Generillo Jr. before the Supreme Court to direct the Senate to immediately convene the impeachment court. He pleaded to the High Tribunal “for the issuance of [a] writ of mandamus directing the members of the Senate to immediately constitute themselves into an impeachment court and forthwith conduct [a] public trial of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte without further delay.” The senators, according to the petition, “are not suffering from any kind of disability, physical or mental” that prevents them from holding an impeachment trial.

Bongbong Marcos (BBM), on the other hand, is once again back in his slacking ways. After finding the courage to impeach his vice president following months of dilly-dallying, he is currently reluctant to call for a special session of the Senate to start the trial.

“The way we see it, it would be an awkward position on the part of the President to voluntarily call for a special session, considering that there is this ongoing [allegation] that the President is behind the impeachment proceeding,” Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

BBM threw the ball back to the Senate. “So it is better for the Senate to request” a special session, and “he would do so,” she added.

This vacillation by BBM will cost him and his family dearly. The delay in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial favors her. There is a danger that public interest in the impeachment will wane due to the postponement. Public pressure is a crucial element of the impeachment process, as previous impeachments have shown.

What is the point of impeaching Sara Duterte only to defer her trial? Why won’t BBM make the decisive move of calling for a special session to bring to conclusion the motion he started?

Impeachment in limbo is a dangerous and perilous situation for House Marcos. The situation makes the possibility of Sara Duterte surviving her impeachment a reality. Once she survives her toughest political ordeal, the Dutertes will likely gain the upper hand in the epic fight between Team Kadiliman and Team Kasamaan.

A resurgent Duterte camp in the post-2025 election scene will be difficult for the Marcoses to handle. By that time, BBM will enter his lame-duck years.

Rescuing Sara Duterte’s impeachment from limbo is the only way for the Marcoses to maintain their current momentum and deliver the fatal blow to the Dutertes. If they miss this chance, there may be none in the future.

What is BBM waiting for? His indecisiveness could cost him and his family their political—and even physical—lives.