House says Sara Duterte impeachment complied with Constitution
The House of Representatives on Wednesday night certified that the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte complied with the 1987 Constitution, a day after the Senate impeachment court voted to return the articles of impeachment to the House.
On a motion by Isabela Rep. Inno Dy, the House plenary deferred acceptance of the articles of impeachment until the Senate Impeachment Court has responded to the queries sought by the House prosecution panel regarding the remanding of the articles of impeachment.
With no objections, the motion was carried.
In a voice vote, the House plenary adopted House Resolution No. 2346, which certified that the impeachment initiated on February 5, 2025, against Sara Duterte fully complied with the constitution, including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David "Jayjay" Suarez, and Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe authored the resolution.
The Senate sitting as an impeachment court on Tuesday night voted for the articles of impeachment to be returned to the House of Representatives without dismissing or terminating the case until such time that:
The House of Representatives certifies to the non-violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that 'No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year; include the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints"; and
The House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicates to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
Batangas Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro, in a news conference on Wednesday, said that the House would defer the acceptance of the articles of impeachment while House members sought clarification from the Senate impeachment court.
'We are certain and it is in the face of the impeachment complaint, that we are fully and strictly compliant with the requirements of the Constitution,' Luistro said.
'They're asking for reconfirmation of the 20th Congress, whether it will pursue the impeachment complaint against the vice president. How can this order be complied with when the 20th Congress does not yet exist?' she added.
Those who voted yes include Senate President Chiz Escudero and Senators Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, Robin Padilla, Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, Francis Tolentino, Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito, Ramon Revilla Jr., Joel Villanueva, Lito Lapid, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Raffy Tulfo, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
The negative votes came from Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, and Senators Grace Poe, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Nancy Binay. –Tina Panganiban-Perez/NB, GMA Integrated News
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