IN an unprecedented decision the impeachment court of the Senate, had voted to return to the House of Representatives without dismissing the complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
A total of 18 senators approved it, with five negative votes, and zero abstentions.
Before the vote, Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano moved to amend Senator Ronald Dela Rosa’s motion which was initially to dismiss the case outright.
He motioned that the articles of impeachment be instead returned to the House of Representatives without dismissing or terminating the case.
He argued that there are certain terms that should be satisfied first.
Among them is that the House of Representatives certify to the non violation of Article 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 one year; include the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints”; and
They also said that the House of Representatives of the 20th Congress should communicate to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
Senate President Francis Escudero Escudero thanked the impeachment court “for being able to engage in a lively discourse that enriched not only the records of the Senate but also the debate that is going on even beyond the halls of this chamber.”
Thus with the decision, it meant that there will no longer be any presentation of the articles of impeachment by the House prosecution panel today.
Escudero, who is acting as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, had issued a writ of summons to Duterte, directing the Vice President to file her answers within 10 days.
“The chair, pursuant to Article 7 of the Impeachment Rules, which provides, upon the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment and the organization of the Senate as here and above provided, a writ of summons shall be issued to the person impeached reciting or incorporating said articles and notifying her to appear before the Senate on a day and at a place to be fixed by the Senate and named in such writ and to file her answer to the articles of impeachment within a non-extendible period of ten days from receipt thereof, to which the prosecutors may reply within a non-extendible period of five days there from and to stand to and abide by the orders and judgements of the Senate,” Escudero said.
“The court, therefore, having been organized and their articles of impeachment having been referred thereto, hereby issues the Writ of Summons to Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte, who is directed to file her answer within a non-extendible period of ten days from receipt of the summons and the copy of the complaint, pursuant to Article 7 of the Impeachment Rules. So, ordered,” he added.
Those who voted in favor were Escudero, Dela Rosa, Sen. Robin Padilla, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sen. Mark Villar, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. JV Ejercito, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Lito Lapid, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Meanwhile those who cast negative votes came from Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Grace Poe, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, and Sen. Nancy Binay.
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