THE Philippine Senate voted 19-4 to archive the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, effectively ending the proceedings.
The decision, reached after hours of debate on Wednesday, directly follows the Supreme Court’s (SC) recent ruling that declared the impeachment complaint unconstitutional. Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero was among those voting in favor of the motion to archive, proposed by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva.
The motion amended an initial proposal to dismiss the case, opting instead to move the case to the archives, acknowledging the events that transpired but respecting the SC’s decision.
Senator Panfilo Lacson abstained from the vote, stating his preference to await the final ruling of the High Court before taking a position.
The decision was not without dissent. Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III argued that archiving the case implicitly concedes that the Senate never had jurisdiction, despite having convened as an impeachment court in the 19th Congress.
Senate President Escudero countered that archiving preserves the historical record of the Senate’s actions while respecting the Supreme Court’s ruling on jurisdiction.
The Senate’s vote to archive the case, while respecting the Supreme Court’s decision, leaves open the possibility of revisiting the impeachment proceedings should the Supreme Court reverse its ruling. The Supreme Court’s July 25th decision deemed the impeachment complaint unconstitutional due to a violation of the one-year rule for filing such cases.
metrosundaily
