Nelson Morales

'Let us not dismiss forthwith' Sara Duterte impeachment, Sotto urges fellow senators

2025 Midterm senatorial canidate, former Senate President Tito Sotto answers questions on Harapan 2025 at the ABS-CBN headquarters in Quezon City on January 31, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN news

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Senate Minority Leader Vicente &quot;Tito&quot; Sotto III on Wednesday urged his fellow senators to postpone the motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the Supreme Court decision on it may still change.</p><p>Sen. Rodante Marcoleta urged senators to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing the Supreme Court ruling that blocked her Senate trial.</p><p>But Sotto moved to table or postpone voting on Marcoleta&#x27;s motion to dismiss the impeachment case of Duterte, arguing that the reversal of the decision &quot;is not impossible&quot; and that the Senate should just wait for the Supreme Court to rectify its &quot;mistakes.&quot;</p><p>Marcoleta later agreed to an amendment for the Senate to adhere to the SC decision.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/6/senate-set-to-debate-supreme-court-ruling-on-sara-duterte-impeachment-1455"><strong>Marcoleta moves to dismiss Sara Duterte impeachment case</strong></a></div><p>&quot;Just to remind everyone, the reversal of the Supreme Court&#x27;s own decision is not impossible, even in landmark cases,&quot; Sotto said, citing La Bugal-B&#x27;laan vs. Ramos and Lily Lopez vs. Lolito Lopez as examples.</p><p>&quot;Let us allow and give chance to the Supreme Court to rectify its decision, which contains clear and blatant errors, for their sake and for future impeachment proceedings,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Let us not dismiss forthwith.&quot;</p><p>Hontiveros seconded Sotto&#x27;s motion to table the motion to dismiss the impeachment case &quot;until the decision of the Supreme Court has attained finality.&quot;</p><p>She explained that tabling the motion to dismiss &quot;is not defiance of the Supreme Court&quot; because there is no final decision yet.</p><p>&quot;Kahit ang Korte Suprema hinihintay pa ang comment ng VP (Even the Supreme Court is still waiting for the VP&#x27;s comment),&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;We should exercise extraordinary prudence in this matter of transcendental importance,&quot; Hontiveros said, stressing she nonetheless respects the high court.</p><p>&quot;Hindi naman po ibig sabihin ng respeto ay pananahimik, lalo na kapag inisip natin kung gaano kalaki ang nakataya dito,&quot; she added.</p><p>(Respect does not mean just staying quiet, especially if we consider how big the stakes are)</p><p>Sen. Bam Aquino meanwhile urged his colleagues to assert the Senate&#x27;s independence as a co-equal branch of government and its &quot;sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.&quot;</p><p>In late July, less than two weeks before the Senate began its new session, the Supreme Court ruled that a trio of earlier complaints logged against Duterte in the House — but voted on only at the committee level — had constituted impeachment proceedings.</p><p>The court said a fresh impeachment attempt could be introduced, but not before February 6, 2026.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/1/congress-constitutional-authority-over-impeachment-should-be-respected-up-law-faculty-1535">Congress&#x27; constitutional authority over impeachment should be respected: UP Law faculty</a></div><p>But some legal experts contend that the Supreme Court ruled based on an incorrect factual timeline, with the House of Representatives in its motion for reconsideration saying that the fourth impeachment articles had been transmitted first before the archiving of the previous complaints.</p><p>Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada last week said that as many as 19 to 20 senators could vote to comply with the Supreme Court ruling throwing out the impeachment case.</p><p>The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in early February, charging the vice president with graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos.</p><div><strong>—with a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2dT8I0wRYyM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZARYHFDdAE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Senate Minority Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday urged his fellow senators to postpone the motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.</p>

Senate Minority Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday urged his fellow senators to postpone the motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.