ASEANEWS HEADLINE-VP Du30 TRIAL | MANILA: VP office receives Senate summons
Sara Duterte’s office receives impeachment court summons | INQToday
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MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte has confirmed receiving summons from the Senate requiring her to answer allegations in the Articles of Impeachment filed by the House of Representatives.
“You, the said Vice President, are likewise hereby summoned to appear before the Senate of the Philippines, at its Session Hall located at GSIS Building, Financial Center, Pasay City, on a date and time to be set by the Presiding Officer of which you will be notified, and then and there to abide by, obey and perform such orders, directions and judgments as the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, shall make in the premises according to the Constitution and laws of the Philippines,” Senate President Francis Escudero stated in the summons received by the Office of the Vice President yesterday.
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Duterte is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia “on a personal trip with her family,” according to the OVP.
She will attend today’s celebration of Philippine Independence in Kuala Lumpur and meet with Filipino workers, the OVP added, not saying when she will return to the Philippines.
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In his summons, Escudero demanded that Duterte file her answer to the accusations indicated in the Articles of Impeachment within a non-extendible period of 10 days.
He noted that the House of Representatives transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate on Feb. 5. They were referred to the impeachment court on Monday.
But the reading of the Articles of Impeachment – originally scheduled yesterday – was cancelled by the Senate impeachment court, as it had already become “moot.”
In a letter to Speaker Martin Romualdez, Escudero said “the putative presentation of the Articles of Impeachment which was scheduled for June 11, 2025 has been rendered moot and is thereby cancelled.”
He said it’s the reading of the Articles and their being referred to the committee on rules that should have triggered the convening of the impeachment court.
And with the court already convened, he said there was no longer a need to have the House prosecutors read the Articles of Impeachment.
Marcos Jr. Busy working
Amid the clash between the two legislative chambers over developments in the impeachment trial, President Marcos remains unperturbed as he is “busy working,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing.
“I’ll say this again, the President is not focused on impeachment, but the President also believes – in general – that there is a need for transparency, accountability for all public servants, not just in the impeachment trial,” she said.
Castro said the President believes that procedures and the rule of law must be followed accordingly in the interest of the people.
“So, when the President says the process or procedure must be followed, do not toy along procedures,” the Palace official said.
Prior to the cancellation, the Senate impeachment court voted to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House with two key conditions: the constitutional one-year ban on filing successive complaints be respected, and the incoming 20th Congress expressly affirm its intention to pursue the case.
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The decision came despite prior preparations by the Senate for trial proceedings, including the adoption of procedural rules.
Even if the Senate remanded the articles to the House, it still summoned Duterte to answer to the Articles of Impeachment filed by the lower chamber – formally beginning her impeachment trial.
However, Senator-judge Ronald dela Rosa questioned the issuance of the summons, saying the court has lost jurisdiction over the Articles of Impeachment after remanding them to the House.
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“Once we decided to return the articles to the House, am I correct to assume that technically we don’t have the jurisdiction over the articles because we returned it? So, why issue subpoena when we have already returned it? Maybe if they return the articles to us, that’s the only time we can issue summons,” he said in Filipino and English.
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Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros, one of the strongest voices opposing Dela Rosa’s earlier motion to return the articles to the House, said she was puzzled by her colleague’s initiating a move that would deprive the court of its power to issue summons.
“So even the power to issue summons is being taken away from the impeachment court? So now we can see, stone by stone, the impeachment trial process and complaint are being dismantled. What a disservice to our duty under the Constitution,” Hontiveros said.
The hearing was adjourned to a “date to be decided by the presiding officer.”
Chiz hits House ‘defiance’
At a press conference yesterday, Escudero defended the Senate’s handling of the impeachment proceedings, insisting that the House has no standing to reject the impeachment court’s directive to resubmit its Articles of Impeachment under stricter constitutional compliance.
“The House is in no position to defy an order from the impeachment court. This is not like the bicam where we need to agree. This is an order from the impeachment court directed at the prosecutor who is just one party in the case,” Escudero said.
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He said the court had to issue the directive because the House prosecutors filed the complaint just two hours before the 19th Congress adjourned, leaving barely any time to conduct a trial. The complaint’s transfer to the 20th Congress, he added, requires formal recommitment by both chambers.
“The 19th Congress cannot bind the 20th,” Escudero said. “That’s why the Senate and the House need to confirm, reaffirm whatever is decided now.”
He rejected arguments that remanding the Articles of Impeachment to the House was tantamount to a dismissal of the complaint. He said the move was meant to ensure constitutional compliance, especially with questions raised over the one-year ban and the completeness of documents submitted by the House.
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“It’s attestation and information that we’re seeking. No decision was made; only request for more certification and information, which the court can do moto proprio or on its own,” he said.
And as the Senate and the House crossed swords over impeachment procedures, lawyers backing the Vice President have asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order on her impeachment trial to prevent “irreparable injury” to her.
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“The impeachment process, while inherently political in nature, must still be guided by the minimum requirements of constitutional due process, legality and adherence to the rule of law,” the lawyers led by Israelito Torreon said in their petition.
“Any deviation from these fundamental principles, especially by constitutional organs such as the House of Representatives and the Senate, warrants the intervention of this Honorable Court under its expanded jurisdiction to determine grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction,” the petition read.
The petitioners argued the impeachment proceedings must not cross over from the current 19th Congress to the next, saying an impeachment court “is not perpetual, unbounded or self-sustaining across different legislative assemblies.”
The petitioners said that once the 19th Congress ends on June 30, the Senate, a tribunal for impeachment, “is extinguished by operation of law.” – Daphne Galvez, Helen Flores
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