House to discuss next moves after Senate remand of Duterte impeachment case: solons

Senators approve 39 proposed measures during the plenary session on Monday, June 9, 2025. The chamber also discussed the proposal to convene the as an impeachment court to hear the case against Vice President Sara Duterte. Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit/Joseph B. Vidal, OSP

MANILA — The House of Representatives is meeting on Wednesday to discuss its next moves after the “dangerous precedent” set by the Senate when it sent the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the House, two lawmakers said.

Eighteen senators on Tuesday voted in favor of the motion to remand the impeachment case back to the House, which must now certify that it did not violate the constitution and that it remains willing to prosecute the case when its new members take their seats on June 30.

“The Senate made a dangerous precedent. It was a clear breach of their duty at saka a breach of public trust,” House impeachment prosecutor and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said.

“To remand is not an option; it is either acquit or convict after trial. Malinaw na pagsagasa ito sa ating Konstitusyon at sa ating demokrasya,” he told DZMM. 

Act Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro agreed that the Senate’s move was “unconstitutional.”

“Walang mga ganoong procedure. Kapag na-verify, natanggap na ng Senado yung articles of impeachment, ang kailangan na lang nila gawin ay i-trial na—hindi yung parang tatanungin pa kami, ibabalik sa amin pa, wala na sa amin yung jurisdiction. Kaya talagang nakakabaliw, nakakatawa itong ginawa ng mga senador,” she told DZMM.

“Talagang hanggang madi-dribble nila, dini-dribble nila at talagang hanggang madi-delay nila ang impeachment trial, ginagawa lahat,” she said.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, former national police chief and enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, on Tuesday introduced a motion to dismiss the impeachment case against the former leader's daughter.

Sara Duterte impeachment trial ‘in limbo’ after Senate returns case to House: expert

Dela Rosa argued that earlier complaints filed against the Vice President in the House, which did not make it past the committee level, had constituted multiple impeachment proceedings within a year, something banned under the Philippine constitution.

The motion was later amended in favor of sending the case back to the House.

Defensor asserted that more than 250 House members signed the impeachment complaint and had “acted with utmost” scrutiny before transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

He said that instead of remanding the case, the Senate acting as an impeachment court could have ordered the prosecutors to address the concerns raised by some senators, without pausing the trial.

Defensor added that senator-judges should not have introduced and debated motions, which should have been made instead by prosecutors or Duterte’s team. 

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HOUSE’S NEXT MOVES 

The House will “meet very soon today” about the Senate’s move, Defensor said. “We have been in communication with each other since last night sinusubaybayan natin ang ating Senado… We just have to sit down and discuss what is the most appropriate action to address the action of the Senate,” he said.

Castro added, “Magmi-meeting ata sila ng 10 o’clock, pero alam ko tutuloy sila [sa Senado].”

“May Mass nga mamaya e para i-send off yung mga prosecutors sa hapon... Tingnan natin yung development, pero ang sinasabi ng mga prosecutor na itutuloy nila kahit sinabing moot and academic na raw yung pagpunta,” she said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who opposed Dela Rosa’s motion, warned Tuesday that returning the case to the lower body was an abrogation of responsibility that would see it ultimately disappear.

"Remanding is a functional dismissal," she said, later adding the impeachment complaint was "being dismantled brick by brick".

Senate President Francis Escudero, however, insisted there was no such motive behind the body's decision.

"The intention is to give the prosecutors an opportunity to answer certain questions in a manner that does not waste the time of the court," he said.

Following the vote, Escudero issued a summons for the vice president, who will have 10 days from its receipt to answer the impeachment charges.

What senator-judges said on return of Sara impeachment complaint to House

But the Akbayan party, which had endorsed the impeachment complaint, called the senators "cowards".

"After dribbling for so long, now they're going to pass (the ball). They're not only cowards; they are traitors to their sworn duty," they said on their Facebook page.

Michael Tiu, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, told AFP the decision to remand had "no constitutional or legal basis".

"The power of the Senate is to try and decide. It cannot second guess a co-equal body’s exercise of its exclusive power to initiate an impeachment proceeding," he said.

A slate of candidates loyal to Duterte outperformed expectations in May's midterm elections, winning five of the 12 open seats and upping her chances for acquittal.

On Monday, Duterte's defense team said in a statement they were "ready to confront the charges and expose the baselessness of the accusations against the Vice President".

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— With a report from Agence France-Presse