Shameless Abdication

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Senate President Chiz Escudero once again hoodwinked the Filipino people. On the last session of the 19th Senate, two days before it adjourns sine die, he declared the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte commences. Yet the day before, June 11, 2025, Escudero and allied senators pulled another insidious and devious trick.

Prior to the surprise con, Escudero toyed with and played the Filipino people. Public outrage was mounting over Escudero’s obvious maneuver to stall the vice president’s impeachment trial. Civil society organizations, law schools, academic institutions, and professional organizations issued statements and position papers condemning the Senate’s lack of interest in fulfilling its constitutional duty and mandate.

Acting stung and seemingly bowing to public sentiment, Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on June 9, 2025. He also assured Filipinos that senators would take their oath as senator-judges the following day, giving the appearance that the impeachment trial would start a day before scheduled. Somehow good.

The senators did take their oath as senator-judges, as Escudero promised. But something was odd as three senators – Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, and Cynthia Villar – refused to wear the robes for the occasion. That already signaled a nefarious plot was being hatched just as public adrenaline over the impeachment trial started to rise.

Escudero further heightened expectations when he initiated a pro forma of a trial. “This is it,” Filipinos exclaimed, “the impeachment trial of Sara Duterte has begun.” Then Escudero and company dropped the atomic bomb.

Debates started, and the senators exchanged positions and views on the impeachment of Sara Duterte. As the night wore on, Bato dela Rosa brought to the floor his proposal to dismiss the impeachment complaint. Alan Peter Cayetano rose to oppose the move and put forward an amendment. Instead of dismissing the impeachment complaint, why not remand or return it to the House to do two things: certify non-violation of the Constitution and have the House of the 20th Congress communicate that it still wants to pursue the impeachment trial?

Eighteen senators voted in favor of the amended proposal – Alan Peter Cayetano, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Bong Revilla, Imee Marcos, JV Ejercito, Bong Go, Loren Legarda, Robinhood Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Raffy Tulfo and Chiz Escudero.

Five voted against the amended proposal – Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Senator Nancy Binay, and Senator Grace Poe.

After the voting, Escudero banged the gavel and ended the session. The nation was thrown into pandemonium with the latest reprehensible antic of the Senate. The impeachment trial is once again suspended until the 20th Congress assumes office. Tentatively, the impeachment trial is set for July 30, 2025, but who knows what trick the Senate will again play when that date comes. The Senate cannot be trusted anymore with its words. With a month and a half, the Senate has enough time to scheme another hoax.

Legal and constitutional experts are in consensus that what the Senate did is brazenly illegal and unconstitutional. It is a shameless abdication of constitutional duty.

“I think it’s unconstitutional. First, the Constitution is clear that the Senate’s role is to try and decide. It is not supposed to supervise the House, which also has the exclusive power to initiate cases of impeachment. Second, it violates constitutional structure. The House and Senate are constitutionally equal even if they have different roles in impeachment,” University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law constitutional law professor Paolo Tamase slammed the Senate.

“In addition to those, it sets a bad precedent – it allows the Senate to punt a politically difficult impeachment to the other House, potentially resulting in an endless ping-pong. It’s not a reading of the impeachment provisions that furthers accountability of not just the impeached officer, but the Senate as well,” Tamase added.

Where did the Senate get the power to judicially review the action of the House? Only the Supreme Court has a say on whether the act of the House is constitutional or not. If the Senate thinks the House violated the Constitution, it should file a case before the Supreme Court. Pending the High Court’s decision, the Senate must follow its constitutional duty and mandate to conduct the impeachment trial. The Constitution is clear – the House initiates an impeachment; the Senate holds a trial forthwith.

It is contemptible, appalling, and abominable that the reasons of the Senate for returning the impeachment complaint to the House echo the arguments of Sara Duterte’s petition to the Supreme Court seeking to stop her impeachment trial. It is clear the Senate is no longer acting as an impeachment court evaluating evidence against Sara Duterte but behaves as her defense lawyer. As an institution, the Senate is greatly diminished.

What reigns in the Senate now is naked partisanship. The eighteen senators who voted to remand the case simply wanted to wantonly abandon their constitutional duty to hold the impeachment trial of Sara Duterte. Their decision is dictated by pure selfish political interest. They do not even have the shame to hide their partisanship and bias.

The eighteen senators were elected by the Filipino people. Their loyalty and allegiance should be to the country and to the Constitution they have sworn to uphold and defend. No longer restrained by public shame, these senators turned their backs on their oath and instead chose to serve and advance their own selfish agenda.

An enraged public will eventually hold the eighteen senators accountable for their gross betrayal of public trust. History will harshly judge and condemn them to oblivion.