SENATE REMANDS VP SARA IMPEACHMENT CASE TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THE Senate impeachment court on Tuesday voted to remand to the House of Representatives the impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.

However, the senators clarified that the move did not mean the dismissal of the case.

Eighteen senators voted to return the case to the House of Representatives (HoR) while five opposed.

Among those who voted to return the impeachment articles to the HoR were Senator-judges Alan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Bong Revilla Jr., Robinhood Padilla, Francis Tolentino, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Miguel Zubiri, and Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Those who voted against the move to return the case to the House were Senator-judges Koko Pimentel III, Risa Hontiveros, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, and Win Gatchalian.

The 22 senators on Tuesday took their oath as judges in the impeachment trial of VP Duterte.

The motion to return the Articles of Impeachment against VP Duterte to the House of Representatives was introduced by Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano as a compromise to preserve constitutional integrity without prematurely terminating the case.

Instead of dismissing the impeachment case as proposed by Senator-judge dela Rosa, Cayetano moved that the Articles of Impeachment be returned to the House of Representatives, without dismissing or terminating the case.

This according to Cayetano is until such time that the  House of Representatives certifies the non-violation of Art. XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year,” including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints; and that the House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicates to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the vice president.

“The effect of this is only about four days. It won’t delay the proceedings and will even help the 20th Congress,” Cayetano told reporters in an ambush interview.

Hontiveros expressed opposition to the move saying: “Wala pong remand o return sa Konstitusyon. Ang obligation natin, try and decide,” Hontiveros explained.

She added that if clarifications were needed, the Senate could have asked the House prosecution panel to file a formal compliance instead of sending the complaint back.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who earlier called for the complaint’s dismissal due to alleged constitutional infirmities, expressed gratitude following the vote.

The senators said the decision to return the impeachment articles means that the House may opt to refile, revise or affirm its impeachment complaint in the next Congress.

On Monday, Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court.

The House of Representatives was poised to present the articles of impeachment against Duterte on Wednesday, June 11.

Escudero had suggested that the impeachment trial might start at the onset of the 20th Congress, noting that the Senate will vote on all matters related to the impeachment process.

The Senate leader reiterated the need to adhere to procedural requirements before any judicial actions occur.

“There’s still much to be done before we can begin the trial proper concerning Vice President Duterte,” Escudero said.

“We will ensure that all impeachment-related matters will be put to a vote in court,” he added.

The Lower House in February voted to impeach the vice president for high crimes and betrayal of the public trust, alleging budget irregularities, amassing of unusual wealth and a threat to the lives of Marcos, his wife, and the house speaker.

The Vice President denied all allegations.