House Prosecutors Defy Senate, Push VP Sara Duterte Trial Forward
SARA DUTERTE – House prosecutors declared that “no one can stop” the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, affirming that the process is already underway.
Despite the Senate’s move to return the impeachment case to the House of Representatives shortly after convening as an impeachment court, House prosecutors insisted on Wednesday that Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial will proceed. They affirmed that the process had already entered a stage beyond reversal and declared their intent to seek clarity on what they described as “confusing” instructions from the Senate.
VP Duterte was impeached in early February on charges of corruption, graft, and alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., her former running mate. If found guilty, she would not only be removed from office but also permanently disqualified from holding public office.
“No one can stop this anymore, because jurisdiction has been acquired already by the impeachment court,” said Congresswoman Gerville Luistro. She pointed out that the Senate had already issued a summons for Duterte late Wednesday, establishing the court’s jurisdiction. “There will be no… withdrawal (of the impeachment case) by the House. That is not allowed by the constitution.”
The Senate’s 18-5 vote on Tuesday evening requested that the House verify its adherence to the constitution, particularly concerning the handling of three earlier impeachment complaints. The 1987 Constitution forbids multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official within a single year.
Representative Ysabel Maria Zamora clarified that the final complaint had “consolidated all the articles” from the initial filings into a single, unified case. Later that evening, the House passed a resolution affirming the constitutional validity of the process, including the handling of the prior complaints.
However, Senate demands that the House ensure continuity of the trial beyond June 30, when new legislators assume office, were dismissed as unfeasible. House prosecutors argued that it was beyond their mandate to make commitments for a future Congress.
Outside the Senate, hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Wednesday, chanting and protesting, urging senators to push forward with the trial. Former senator and human rights lawyer Leila de Lima suggested that political calculations were influencing the Senate’s decisions. “Loyalty, friendship, political survival. Maybe they are thinking the Dutertes are very much around even if the patriarch (ex-president Rodrigo Duterte) is in The Hague,” she told AFP.
According to the report, Congresswoman France Castro echoed this sentiment, stating that senators were likely trying to protect their political futures. Congressman Keith Flores, when asked if the Senate was deliberately stalling the trial, responded bluntly: “I cannot speak for everyone but for me, yes.”