Lawyer pushing VP impeach raps wary of Senate delay
A lawyer who pushed one of the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte questioned recent remarks by the Senate leadership, which for him cast doubts on whether the chamber will immediately convene as a trial court for the articles of impeachment expected to be transmitted by the House of Representatives.
The House is scheduled on Monday to hold a plenary session where members are to vote on sending the articles to the Senate, which is directed by the Constitution to proceed with the trial “forthwith.”
“The Constitution is clear. Once the articles of impeachment are transmitted, the Senate has the duty to proceed,” human rights lawyer Dino de Leon said in a statement on Saturday.
Also citing the Constitution, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said earlier this week the chamber will convene as an impeachment court once the impeachment articles are transmitted.
“We need to follow the Constitution, which is to convene. It’s that simple,” Sotto said in an interview with dzBB on May 4. “That is part of our job as senators.”
‘Trial proper to take time’
But the next day, Sotto told reporters: “You cannot [start the trial] forthwith the day it is transmitted.”
“I will convene only, but the trial proper will take some time because there are preparations,” he said, citing pretrial procedures, including sending the Vice President a copy of the articles of impeachment.
Sotto said the Senate’s stand on convening as an impeachment court will be decided by “the Senate as a whole.”
His chief ally in the chamber, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, affirmed that point at a media forum on May 6, noting that the chamber is a 24-member court and “not a one-man court.”
‘Collegial body’
This prompted De Leon to ask “What haffen, Vella?”—quoting an internet meme as he questioned the statements by the Senate leaders.“Politics cannot override constitutional duty. Delaying the impeachment court is delaying justice and accountability,” said De Leon, who represented activist groups in an earlier complaint that they eventually withdrew last March, to give way to a similar complaint alleging Duterte’s misuse of confidential funds.
The lawyer said any attempt to delay or avoid the impeachment trial would raise serious constitutional concerns.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing the threat of politics trumping constitutional duty,” De Leon said.
In a post on X on Saturday, Lacson again emphasized that “the Senate is a collegial, deliberative body that is always ruled by the vote of the majority.”
If the Senate’s actions after the impeachment articles are transmitted become a “constitutional issue, the Supreme Court may intervene to compel the Senate to perform our constitutional duty,” Lacson said.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the House committee on justice which prepared the articles of impeachment, expressed confidence that the process they followed can withstand any challenge before the Supreme Court.
“I don’t see any reason why the Senate should stop from convening [as] an impeachment court,” she added.
Impact on 2028
Luistro also disputed both Duterte’s remarks that many lawmakers “are making money using my name” and Sen. Imee Marcos’ claim that congressmen who vote for the Vice President’s impeachment on Monday will be granted support for their “projects.”
“We have not encountered any such offer,” Luistro said. “Nobody talked to me, offered anything to me, or threatened me.”
She said Duterte’s impeachment will affect her 2028 presidential bid.
“I believe that the proceeding in the justice committee [has] already affected the position of the Filipino people on whether or not they will be supporting Vice President Sara for president,” Luistro said.
Duterte’s impeachment will have an impact as well on reelectionist senators, according to De Leon, as he urged the public to closely monitor the Senate’s actions.
“This is one of their most sacred duties—impeachment. If they refuse to vote, they should pay for it in the next election,” he said.
