The Senate, by constitutional design, is entrusted with the solemn duty of acting as an impeachment court. It is a distinct constitutional function that demands impartiality, urgency, and fidelity to the rule of law.
The impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte was transmitted to the Senate on 5 February 2025. Four months have passed. No hearing has been held. No trial has begun. Not a single step has been taken in compliance with the constitutional command to proceed “forthwith”– or without delay.
We remind the Senate: it is accountable to the people and to the Constitution. It must fulfill its constitutional mandate and proceed, without further delay, with the impeachment proceedings of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The Senate presents itself as independent, fair and fearless – a government institution that zealously protects the Constitution, promotes democratic values and upholds the national interest.
However, the recent actions of the 19th Congress cast serious doubt on this vision. The deliberate adjustment of the Senate calendar and the introduction of a Senate resolution seeking the ‘de facto’ dismissal of the impeachment of the Vice President reflect an apparent intent to derail a constitutionally-mandated process. The actions of the Senate threaten to reduce the impeachment – a constitutional mechanism meant to hold public officials accountable – into a mere political circus.
When the Senate sits as an impeachment court, it does not perform a legislative function. An impeachment proceeding is sui generis – unique in its form and purpose. It is neither a matter of political convenience nor a tool to be wielded at will. Instead, it is a constitutional duty that leaves the Senate no option but to fulfill.
The claim that the impeachment will be “functionally dismissed” on the last day of the 19th Congress is constitutionally indefensible and misleads the Filipino people. The Supreme Court has long ruled that the Senate is a continuing body that is “not dissolved as an entity with each national election or change in the composition of its members”. The rules for unfinished business that “unpassed bills, resolutions, and even legislative investigations are considered terminated upon the expiration of that Congress” should not apply. Therefore, the impeachment proceedings, a non-legislative function, must proceed without interruption.
It must be stated plainly: by deliberately delaying the impeachment proceedings, the Senate is failing in its constitutional duty. This is not merely a matter of scheduling. It is a matter of accountability, of constitutional integrity, and of the Senate’s credibility as an institution.
There is no time better than today to stand firm for the mission that the Senate itself took on – “[to] institute good governance, promote rule of law, [and] strengthen democracy”. To do anything less is a betrayal of its constitutional duty and the public trust it is sworn to protect.
