‘UNSTOPPABLE’: House Prosecutors Say Duterte Impeachment to Push Forward

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan and Juliane Judilla

“Tuloy na tuloy na.”

This was one of the remarks of Rep. Gerville Luistro (Batangas–2nd) on Wednesday, June 11, on the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, signifying their stance that they will push forward despite the Senate’s remand of the complaint back to their chamber on Tuesday evening.

The original impeachment court schedule, as detailed by Senate President Francis Escudero to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was that the Senate was supposed to start convening as an impeachment court on Wednesday.

But the Senate swiftly convened on Tuesday evening, June 10, and voted to remand the impeachment complaint to the House of Representatives (HOR), without dismissing or terminating the case.

The motion, put forward by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, gave the other chamber two obligations:

• To certify that the impeachment complaint did not violate the provision of the 1987 Constitution, which doesn’t allow for impeachment complaints to be initiated against the same official more than once in a one-year period, pertaining to the three other impeachment complaints filed with the HOR last year; and
• For the HOR under the 20th Congress to communicate to the Senate that it would be willing to pursue the complaint under a new session.

Cayetano justified that this was not a dismissal but rather a response to legal infirmities alleged by Senator Bato Dela Rosa, who initially proposed to dismiss the complaint.

Seventeen senators voted in favor of the motion, including Cayetano and Dela Rosa, Senate President Francis Escudero, and Senators Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Bong Revilla, Francis Tolentino, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Those who voted against the motion were Senators Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Koko Pimentel, and Grace Poe.

Escudero, who was also the presiding officer of the impeachment court, ordered the issuance of a writ of summons to Duterte, directing her to respond within a non-extendible period of 10 days.

The Office of the Vice President confirmed to the media on late Wednesday morning that it had received the summons from the Senate, despite Duterte herself being out of the country.

Members of the panel held a press conference at the Batasang Pambansa on Wednesday in response to the Senate’s move.

Those present at the press conference included Reps. Luistro, Romeo Acop (Antipolo City–2nd), Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party-list), Joel Chua (Manila–3rd), Jonathan Keith Flores (Bukidnon–2nd), Rodge Gutierrez (1-Rider Party-list), Marcelino Libanan (4Ps Party-list), and Bel Zamora (San Juan City–Lone).

Luistro welcomed the issuance of the writ of summons to the Vice President, saying that the Senate, as the impeachment court, has effectively acquired jurisdiction over her.

“Finally, the people of the Philippines will see what her defenses are. […] No one can stop this anymore, because jurisdiction has been acquired already by the impeachment court over the person of the respondent [Duterte],” she said.

She stated that the prosecution panel resolved to seek clarification from the impeachment court, admitting that they were confused by Cayetano’s approved motion.

“We maintain our position. We followed, fully and strictly, the requirements of the Constitution. We did not violate the one-year prohibition rule,” Luistro said.

She added that the second directive of the motion, which was for the 20th Congress to communicate its intention to proceed, would be impossible to comply with since the 20th Congress did not exist yet.

“With respect to the second order, it is impossible to be complied with because first of all, [the] 20th Congress doesn’t exist yet. We are just in the 19th Congress. We still have to adjourn, but we are looking forward to convening the 20th Congress on July 28, simultaneous with the [State of the Nation Address],” she added.

They would also seek clarification on the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment, with Luistro pointing out that the presentation and reading of the Articles were included in the Senate’s Rules on Impeachment.

Libanan reiterated their confusion over the Senate’s remand of the case, despite their compliance with the requirement of more than one-third of HOR members voting for impeachment last Feb. 5.

“This is the first time that it happened, that it was returned to us, and that is why we need clarification. Even though we are the prosecutors and they [the Senate] are the impeachment court, we are confused and we don’t understand why it needed to be returned to us. What would we do? That is something we need to be cleared about,” Libanan said.

Chua said that they would not make any pronouncements as to other legal remedies at the moment, while waiting for the response to the clarification that they will ask the Senate.

PUBLIC PRESSURE

Braving heavy downpours, groups marched from West Visayas State University to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to demand the immediate start of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte on June 11.

The protest, led by the Movement Against Tyranny (MAT)–Panay and backed by various progressive multi-sectoral groups, condemned what they called a “betrayal of justice” by the Senate.

The protest was ignited by the Senate’s controversial 18–5 vote to remand the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives, effectively stalling proceedings that had gained momentum earlier this year.

In February, the complaint had already secured endorsements from 215 representatives—well beyond the one-third threshold needed to transmit the case to the Senate for trial.

Atty. Pete Melliza of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL)–Panay criticized the Senate’s decision.

“The Senate’s decision to remand the impeachment case against Sara Duterte only shows that the Senate sides with a thief,” Melliza declared.

MAT–Panay and its allies urged the public to remain vigilant and pressure lawmakers to move forward with the trial.

They asserted that the charges against the Vice President are too serious to ignore.

These include allegations of plotting political assassinations, misusing PHP612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds, bribery, financial misconduct, amassing unexplained wealth, involvement in extrajudicial killings, and inciting sedition and destabilization against the President.

“Sara Duterte did not merely commit a minor offense,” Thea Dayata of Kabataan Party-list said.

“They strike at the very heart of public service and democratic accountability. The people deserve a full, fair, and transparent trial. Justice demands nothing less,” she added.

The program concluded with a noise barrage, as protesters chanted, “Convict, convict, convict Sara Duterte!” while the rain intensified, echoing not only the thunder above but also the people’s resounding demand for justice.

The groups vowed that the June 11 march marked only the beginning of a broader campaign to hold the country’s second-highest official accountable.