THE Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted late Tuesday to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.
The decision, reached after hours of intense debate, avoids dismissing the charges outright but effectively stalls the proceedings until certain conditions are met.
The vote tally stood at 18 in favor of returning the case, five against, and zero abstentions. This action follows a motion by Senator-judge Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to dismiss the case entirely, citing a potential violation of the Constitution’s one-year ban on impeachment proceedings against the same official.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano’s amendment to Dela Rosa’s motion ultimately prevailed.
Cayetano’s proposal mandates the return of the articles to the House with the stipulation that the impeachment process cannot resume until the House formally certifies that the one-year ban (Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution) has not been violated.
This certification must include a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding the filing of the three previous impeachment complaints against the Vice President.
Furthermore, the House must explicitly communicate its willingness and readiness to proceed with the impeachment complaint before the Senate can resume its role as an impeachment court.
This decision represents a significant procedural hurdle for the impeachment effort.
The onus now falls on the House of Representatives to address the constitutional concerns raised by the Senate and to demonstrate its commitment to pursuing the case.
The return of the articles to the House leaves the future of the impeachment proceedings uncertain, potentially delaying or even derailing the trial depending on the House’s response and actions. The legal and political ramifications of this decision will undoubtedly be closely scrutinized in the coming weeks.
