By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18–5 on Tuesday night to return the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, rejecting calls for outright dismissal while leaving the case technically alive for further action.
The motion, introduced by Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano, was presented as a compromise to preserve constitutional integrity without prematurely terminating the case.
The motion explicitly stated that the return of the articles would not constitute dismissal or final judgment.
“The effect of this is only about four days. It won’t delay the proceedings and will even help the 20th Congress,” Cayetano told reporters in an ambush interview, saying the move allows the next Congress to act with greater clarity and legitimacy.
Those who voted against the motion were: Senator-Judges Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, Risa Hontiveros, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, and Sherwin Gatchalian.
Sen. Hontiveros criticized the language of the motion as vague and legally problematic, “The wording of the approved motion introduces unnecessary ambiguity to the already politically charged proceedings.”
“Wala pong remand o return sa konstitusyon. Ang obligation natin: try and decide.”
Also, Hontiveros argued that if clarifications were needed, the Senate could have asked the House prosecution panel to file a formal compliance instead of sending the complaint back.
Votes for remand
Senator-Judge Jinggoy Estrada, who voted in the affirmative, said his decision was anchored in experience and a commitment to constitutional order.
“That’s why I feel strongly about following each step in the Constitution. It’s a sensitive matter that I take to heart,” he said, recalling the aborted impeachment of his father, former President Joseph Estrada.
He emphasized that while impeachment is inherently political, the process must adhere to rules to avoid being arbitrary or agenda-driven, “Even in a political process like impeachment, we must adhere to established procedures to ensure that actions are neither arbitrary nor driven solely by political agendas.”
Senator-Judge Francis Tolentino, meanwhile, clarified that his affirmative vote was “subject to a continuing firm stand” that the acts of the 19th Congress cannot be carried into the 20th.
“Naniniwala po ako na hindi po talaga pwede at dapat tumawid,” he said, referencing the transition between congressional sessions.
Senator-Judge Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who earlier called for the complaint’s dismissal due to alleged “constitutional infirmities”, expressed gratitude following the vote.
“18-5 Returned!!! Thank you, Lord! I’m not trained nor equipped for this kind of task, but I am blessed with a clean heart and a fighting spirit that won’t stop. So blessed to be guided by the Holy Spirit,” he wrote on Facebook.
Case not kicked out
The decision means that the House of Representatives may opt to refile, revise, or affirm its impeachment complaint in the next Congress.
Cayetano said the Senate will ask the House to certify whether the complaint violates the constitutional one-year bar on multiple impeachment attempts, a point of contention raised in Dela Rosa’s initial motion to dismiss.
Cayetano acknowledged that while some senator-judges wanted to dismiss the complaint outright, the return serves as a middle ground.
“Most of us do not want to dismiss it but agree that we have to look into the facts kung totoo o hindi na viniolate ang Constitution,” he said.
