Camille Naredo

Members of an inter-agency coordinating committee conduct a walk through on July 15, 2024, as the House of Representatives prepares for the coming State Of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22. 

Members of an inter-agency coordinating committee conduct a walk through on July 15, 2024, as the House of Representatives prepares for the coming State Of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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CONGRESS-SONA

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175144772018620240715-congress-sona-preps-JC-7197.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Members of an inter-agency coordinating committee conduct a walk through on July 15, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of an inter-agency coordinating committee conduct a walk through on July 15, 2024. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- The requirements issued by the Senate impeachment court for the House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings are “questionable” and “have no legal basis”, according to a member of the House prosecution panel.</p><p>Nonetheless, Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said the prosecution is “trying to do everything to comply”.</p><p>He issued the statement after the spokesperson for the Senate impeachment court said it won’t reconvene unless the House prosecution complies with all its orders.</p><p>“There is no legal basis but of course we are trying to do everything to somehow comply with the requirement of the Senate Impeachment Court,” Chua said in a phone interview.</p><p>“To be honest with you, itong nire-require po sa amin, we believe na parang medyo... may problema talaga, questionable. But just the same, the reason why we are complying with it because ayaw naman namin na mapagbintangan kami na we are delaying the...impeachment hearing... In fact, pati ‘yung submission ng certification na hindi naman kailangan eh,” he added.</p><p>“When we transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate, there is always a presumption of legality. So, wala kami nakikita doon legal impediment. So, dapat under the Constitution, under the law, dapat they should have proceeded with the trial,” Chua noted.</p><p>Last Wednesday, the prosecution filed its compliance to the court’s requirement for a certification that the House impeachment proceedings against Duterte were fully complaint with the Constitution.</p><p>The court also required the prosecution to submit a resolution approved by the lower chamber of the 20th Congress ratifying the acts of the 19th Congress House of Representatives and “affirming its determination to pursue and prosecute” the verified impeachment complaint against Duterte.</p><p>But Akbayan Party List Representative Chel Diokno said compliance to the said requirement should be carefully studied because it “might be a trap”, and may be viewed as a violation to the Constitutional ban on initiating more than one impeachment complaint against the same official for one year.</p><p>Chua said the House prosecution is still studying the matter.</p><p>“What is the effect if we will comply? So we have to balance everything. We have to be very careful… ‘Yung impeachment kasi hindi naman dapat, sobrang higpit. This is not a court of law,” he explained.</p><p>“With all due respect sa Senate, ayaw naman din natin sabihin na they&#x27;re trying to delay. Basta tayo as part of the panel of prosecutors, ang hinihingi lang namin e sana gampanan namin lahat ‘yung aming mga constitutional mandate,” Chua called on the Senate.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/1/senate-court-to-vote-on-vp-sara-s-bid-to-junk-impeach-raps-gatchalian-1453">READ: Senate court to vote on VP Sara&#x27;s bid to junk impeach raps -- Gatchalian</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/30/house-prosecution-studying-response-to-senate-impeach-court-s-2nd-order-1901">READ: House prosecution studying response to Senate impeach court’s 2nd order</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>ULTRA VIRES?</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175144783974320250604-tindig-pilipinas-presscon-MT-6 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Tindig Pilipinas, a coalition of pro-democracy groups, political parties, and impeachment complainants, holds a press conference on Tuesday, June 4, 2025, at the UP Hotel in Quezon City to call on the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court and begin the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The group urged lawmakers to uphold accountability and due process following the House’s transmission of the verified impeachment complaint. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN New"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Tindig Pilipinas, a coalition of pro-democracy groups, political parties, and impeachment complainants, holds a press conference on Tuesday, June 4, 2025, at the UP Hotel in Quezon City to call on the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court and begin the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The group urged lawmakers to uphold accountability and due process following the House’s transmission of the verified impeachment complaint. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN New</em></span></span></span></strong>ML Party List Representative Leila De Lima, who is expected to join the House prosecution panel, shares the view that the Senate impeachment court’s requirements to the prosecution “cannot be found” in the Constitution and in the Senate Rules.</div><p>She believes that if the Senate impeachment court does not reconvene unless its requirements are complied with, it would be an action “beyond its legal power or authority” or “ultra vires”.</p><p>“It&#x27;s one ultra vires act after another being committed by the Senate as an impeachment court. The Senate is treating the House&#x27;s role in the impeachment like a dog-and-pony show, that the House should perform whatever it demands even if these are not found anywhere in the Constitution or its own Rules of Impeachment,” De Lima said in a statement.</p><p>“We are not here for their amusement. The House is here to perform a constitutional mandate and prosecute an impeached official. The House has done and is doing its job. The Senate should do theirs as well,” she urged the Senate.</p><p>De Lima said non-compliance to the requirements given by the Senate impeachment court should not delay the trial, because based on the Constitution, the House has completed its constitutional mandate in initiating an impeachment trial.</p><p>“Huwag dapat nilang ginagawang rason ng tila ba pattern of delay on the Senate&#x27;s part yung supposed still non-compliance by the House of certain orders. Insofar as the House is concerned, nagawa na nito ang kanyang trabaho sa pag-initiate ng impeachment complaint at  pag-transmit ng Articles of Impeachment sa Senate, dahil ‘yan ang utos ng Konstitusyon,” she explained.</p><p>“Gawin na rin dapat ng Senado ang tatlong utos sa kanila ng Konstitusyon: (1) Convene (or re-convene as an impeachment court, (2) Hold impeachment trial, and (3) Render a verdict. Enough of delays and excuses!” De Lima added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/28/supreme-court-is-last-resort-if-senate-dismisses-vp-sara-impeachment-case-spox-1412">READ: Supreme Court is last resort if Senate dismisses VP Sara impeachment case – spox</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>LEGAL IMPEDIMENTS</strong></div><p>For TINGOG Party List Representative Jude Acidre, the supposed legal impediments which the Senate impeachment court hopes to address with the requirements it issued could have been discussed during the trial, instead of getting in the way of it.</p><p>“For me, those are questions also that could form part of the defense and would be better be discussed during the course of the trial instead of having prevented the course of the trial,” Acidre said.</p><p>“It shouldn&#x27;t be the Senate pointing them out. It should have been the defense lawyers pointing them out. Because if you look at the defense, what the defense submitted to the Supreme Court for clarification, they&#x27;re basically the same things that were being pushed for, or the controversies that were given consideration by the Senate,” he added.</p><p>“I think that the trial should have proceeded first so that both sides would have been heard before you can actually resolve these issues,” Acidre noted.</p><p>He believes that the action of the 19th Congress House of Representatives to impeach Duterte cannot be negated by the House of the 20th Congress.</p><p>“We have complied with our duty in the 19th Congress, and I am of the opinion that that should be the starting point. (01:12PM) Anything done in the 19th Congress cannot be negated by the 20th, kasi the fact of the matter remains that the Vice President has been impeached,” Acidre said.</p><p>“More than Constitutionality, it should be the morality of what we’re doing that should disturb us,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>MOTION TO PROCEED WITH PRE-TRIAL</strong></div><p>The House prosecution panel is considering to file a motion to proceed with the pre-trial in Duterte’s impeachment case, according to Chua.</p><p>Last week, Duterte filed her Answer Ad Cautelam, and four days later, the prosecution filed its Reply.</p><p>&quot;For now, ang kino-consider kasi namin is to file a motion to proceed with the pre-trial. Nandiyan ‘yung nagmamarka ng mga… ebidensya na ipe-present sa full-blown hearing… sinu-sino ‘yung mga witnesses na ipe-present, ano ‘yung purpose ng kanilang mga ipe-present. Ang purpose kasi niya is to prevent surprises during the course of the trial,” Chua explained.</p><p>“That is part of the process eh… Dapat naka-summon pa para to appear ‘yung respondent, ‘di ba? Kumbaga, step by step ‘yan, until ‘yung pinaka-full blown trial,” he added.</p><p>The motion may be filed before Congress begins session on July 28, according to Chua.</p>

<p>The requirements issued by the Senate impeachment court for the House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings are “questionable” and “have no legal basis”, according to a member of the House prosecution panel.</p>

The requirements issued by the Senate impeachment court for the House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings are “questionable” and “have no legal basis”, according to a member of the House prosecution panel.

House prosecutor questions Senate impeachment court’s prosecution requirements

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House prosecutor questions Senate impeachment court’s prosecution requirements

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 02, 2025 05:25 PM PHT

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