Sen. Robin Padilla Wants End over VP Sara Duterte’s Impeachment Trial
ROBIN PADILLA – The actor-turned Senator admitted that while he voted “yes” for the archiving of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case, he prefers its dismissal.
The Senate recently voted to archive the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte with a 19-4 voting. The motion to archive was a changed motion by known Duterte-ally Sen. Rodante Marcoleta. Initially, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman wanted the dismissal of the impeachment case against the Vice President.
The discussion of the Senate came a few weeks after the Supreme Court declared the Articles of Impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte as “unconstitutional” for not following the one-year rule in the Constitution. Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto attempted to table Marcoleta’s motion to dismiss Duterte’s impeachment case but failed with only five (5) votes.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta agreed to change his motion to archiving the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte amid a pending Motion for Resolution filed by the House of Representatives before the Supreme Court. The senators voted on the motion.
YES
- Alan Peter Cayetano
- Pia Cayetano
- Ronald Dela Rosa
- JV Ejercito
- Francis Escudero
- Jinggoy Estrada
- Sherwin Gatchalian
- Bong Go
- Lito Lapid
- Loren Legarda
- Rodante Marcoleta
- Imee Marcos
- Robinhood Padilla
- Erwin Tulfo
- Raffy Tulfo
- Joel Villanueva
- Camille Villar
- Mark Villar
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
NO
- Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV
- Risa Hontiveros
- Francis Pangilinan
- Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
ABSTAIN
- Panfilo “Ping” Lacson
As expected, all Duterte allies voted in favor of the archiving of the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. However, as for Sen. Robin Padilla, he admitted that it is not the archiving of the impeachment case that he wants but its dismissal.
“Bagama’t ang boto ko ay yes, aray, aray, aray. Malamang ang sasabihin ninyo, ‘Ah, siyempre eh si Robin Padilla alam na natin. Eh, mabuti po alam niyo na. Ang gusto ko lamang pong liwanagin ay ito. Ang nais ko sana ay katapusan na nito, dismissal. Una pa lang po kami na convene, eh, labag na labag na po sa kalooban ko na matuloy ito,” Padilla said based on a post on News5.
Sen. Robin Padilla also recalled the time when he did not wore his impeachment robe when the Senate convened as an impeachment court. According to the actor-turned-senator, they are really pushing that the case is just politics and his act of not wearing a robe is a sign of protest that he does not want the trial to proceed.
“Sa loob po ng matagal na panahon, panahon ni Bonifacio, panahon ni Aguinaldo, panahon ni Quezon, panahon ni Marcos Sr., ni Aquino Sr., ni Aquino Jr., ni Arroyo, ni Marcos Jr., PRRD Duterte… Hindi na po tayo natapos sa usapin ng pulitika,” the actor-turned-Senator said.
Furthermore, Sen. Robin Padilla stressed that the Supreme Court decision allegedly supported that while the impeachment is a political move, it should not go above the right of a person for due process. Based on the post, the Senator hopes that the issue will reach its conclusion so the Senate can focus on the real problems of the country.
“Sana po, matapos na po ito at harapin na po natin ang mga tunay na problema ng bayan katulad po ng sweldo, katulad po ng agrikultura, pagkain, kaguluhan sa West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Previously, during an event in Malaysia, Sen. Robin Padilla claimed that he will be the campaign manager of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte and Sen. Imee Marcos in 2028.