Members of the House of Representatives open the 2nd regular session of the 19th Congress on July 24, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File. 

MANILA — The House of Representatives will seek clarity on the Senate’s order to return the Articles of Impeachment in Vice President Sara Duterte's case to the lower chamber, House prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said.

Senate returns Sara Duterte impeachment to House; insists case not junked

“We do not understand really why it is being remanded to us... What is the intention really of the impeachment court, why the articles of impeachment is being returned to us,” said Luistro.

She said the House was confused by the Senate's order on whether Duterte's impeachment on February 5 followed the constitutional ban on an official facing no more than one impeachment proceeding per year.

The House on June 11 certified the complaint constitutional, saying it only initiated the last of the four impeachment complaints filed against Duterte.

Three were filed by civil society groups while the fourth was filed by House members themselves.

House certifies impeachment of VP Duterte complied with Constitution

Luistro said it is impossible to comply with the second order because the 20th Congress has yet to convene.

She cited former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile's resolution on the impeachment case of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, stating that an impeachment complaint enjoys presumption of legality if it complies with the two basic requirements—to be approved by at least a third of the House, and verified by the secretary general.

Luistro also questioned the Senate’s cancellation of the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment, citing that the Senate Rules of Impeachment require the reading of the Articles before it convenes an impeachment court.

The Senate convened an impeachment court on June 10 and decided to cancel the reading of the Articles of Impeachment, originally scheduled June 13.

“We are just trying to avoid any loophole or excuse from the impeachment court why the trial should not proceed,” Luistro said.

She underscored that the Senate does not have the mandate to dismiss the impeachment complaint.

Citing Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution, she said only the House has the power to transmit an impeachment case to the Senate, and the upper chamber may only try and decide to either convict or acquit.

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‘SENATE MANDATED TO BE POLITICALLY NEUTRAL’

Luistro further highlighted that the senator-judges are mandated by the Constitution to maintain political neutrality while trying an impeachment case.

This after the Duterte allies Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Sen. Robinhood Padilla, challenged the constitutionality of the impeachment complaint against the vice president.

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“They have to be impartial without reference to their political affiliation. I think being partial and recusing the duty to be a senator-judge is both going beyond what is allowed by the Constitution (recusing or being partial) and the Senate rules of impeachment,” Luistro noted.

One day after the Senate convened as an impeachment court, Dela Rosa and Padilla were both seen joining Vice President Duterte in an event in Malaysia.  

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