Jea Nicole Jacot

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros delivered a manifestation concerning the upper chamber’s delay in proceeding with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte during a Senate Plenary Session on June 2.

Photos Courtesy of Rappler/Angie De Silva/Facebook/Senator Risa Hontiveros.

“The 1987 Constitution demands that the Senate continue with the impeachment proceedings without further delay,” Hontiveros said, citing the rulings of the Supreme Court regarding the impeachment process.

She emphasized that impeachment is a non-legislative function of the Senate and should not be interrupted by the transition from the 19th to the 20th Congress.

Afterward, she stated that the impeachment trial in the Senate “shall forthwith proceed” once at least one-third of the members of the House of Representatives have formally filed an impeachment complaint.

“Hahatulan tayo ng sambayanan kung hindi natin ginampanan ang tungkulin na ito sa sambayanan,” she expressed.

To begin an impeachment trial in the Senate, the Articles of Impeachment must first be officially presented. Once presented in plenary, the Upper Chamber can immediately form an impeachment court and proceed with the trial of Duterte.

‘Priority’ legislation

Upon granting Hontiveros the floor, Senate President Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero was seen walking away from the presiding officer’s seat during the Senate Plenary session on Monday, June 2. 

A snippet of the session posted on X (formerly Twitter) by an online user quickly garnered attention, with many netizens expressing their dismay at Escudero’s indifference to concerns regarding the impeachment.

Escudero rescheduled the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment, moving it from June 2 to June 11, emphasizing the urgent need to pass several priority measures awaiting legislative approval.

The priority bills include Senate Bill (SB) No. 2898, Amendments to the Foreign Investors' Long-Term Lease Act; SB No. 2781, E-Governance Act; SB No. 2826, Rationalization of the Fiscal Mining Regime; SB No. 2620, Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act; SB No. 2868, Anti-POGO Act; and others.

If the Senate proceeds on June 11, senators will need to read the Articles of Impeachment, take their oaths as senator-judges, and issue a summons to Duterte all in one day.

Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Representative-elect Leila de Lima, who has been selected to be one of the 11-member House prosecution panel, described the four-month delay since Sara Duterte's impeachment as “clearly violative” of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Akbayan party-list Representative Percival Cendaña on Tuesday, June 3, asked Escudero if he is afraid of Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that “convening the Senate as an impeachment court is a solemn constitutional duty.”  

The Upper Chamber received the articles on February 5, the same day that the House of Representatives officially impeached Vice President Duterte.