Joselito Malig

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Senator Robin Padilla on Monday said the Senate minority bloc will oppose the convening of the impeachment court in case the House of Representatives transmits the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte for trial. &quot;&#x27;Di ba ang papel naman ng minority to oppose? Hindi lang impeachment. Lahat ng bagay dito, ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose,&quot; said Padilla, a Duterte ally. &quot;Kapag kami ay nag-oppose, &#x27;wag kaming sabihan na kami ay bias (sic). Trabaho po ng minority yun. Yan po ang parliamentary procedure na dapat naming sundin. Yan po ang sinasabi ng demokrasya,&quot; he said. &quot;Eh, natural lang yun. Natural na yun. Eh, yun ang parliamentaryong ano eh,&quot; he said. &quot;Kayo naman, tagal niyo na dito. Basta minority yan ang papel.&quot;Padilla said while senators have an oath as judges, there is also a political dimension. &quot;Ang oath namin ay sa bayan. Malinaw naman yan. Lahat naman ng senador dito nag-oath. Ang loyalty namin ay sa Konstitusyon,&quot; he said. &quot;Nanumpa ka. Siyempre, yun yun. Pero siyempre iba yung political. Iba yung political, iba yung oath. Kailangan maintindihan natin iyan siyempre.&quot;Padilla initially declined questions on the impeachment since Senate President Vicente Sotto III told senators he will designate a spokesperson.Padilla said he has been preparing for his role as a senator-judge just in case. &quot;Nung una palang, nung una pa lang na may impeachment, nag-aral na kami. Nag-aral na kami. Saka ako naman eh madalas na may kaso. Kaya alam ko naman kahit paano ang mga pangyayari sa loob ng court,&quot; he added.Minority bloc Senator Jinggoy Estrada also said he is against Duterte&#x27;s impeachment, saying that the country already has a lot of problems to address.&quot;Ako, ayaw ko na sana magulo masyado ang bansa natin. Masyado na maraming problema. Ako I have said it time and again, ayaw ko ng impeachment,&quot; he said.Despite this, he said he will be doing his job and will decide based on evidence should the articles of impeachment be transmitted to the Senate.Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that the bloc met Monday and he gave assurances they will follow the rules.&quot;We&#x27;ll follow all the rules and the procedures. Guided naman kami lahat dahil maraming mga abogado sa minority,&quot; he said.Sotto, meanwhile, said the Senate will have to decide on what to do with Duterte&#x27;s looming impeachment, adding a vote may be taken if there is opposition.&quot;Most probably. Now, ang problema kasi, kaya ko iniwasan yung mga ganyan, eh, as, as of now, everything is speculative eh. So mahirap mag-speculate. Mag-i-speculate tayo ng ganito at ganyan ganyan tas di naman mangyayari so useless lang. Hintayin na lang natin. Let&#x27;s be a little more patient,&quot; he said.Sotto said they are ready whatever happens but he clarified that while he believed the court will be convened forthwith, trial won&#x27;t happen until much later. &quot;Hindi. You see, that is the big difference of the misinterpretation of some people. Ang sinasabi ng Supreme Court at tama yung Supreme Court sa sinasabi nila na the impeachment itself is yes, forthwith but within reasonable time,&quot; &quot;What do they mean? They mean within reasonable time, yung trial. The trial proper. You cannot, you cannot forthwith... the day it is, uh, transmitted,&quot; Sotto said. &quot;Forthwith, I plan to convene the impeachment court. I convene only. Pero the trial proper will take some time because, may mga ika nga, may mga preparations iyan,&quot; he added.Sotto said they will follow the Constitution. &quot;Sundin natin ang Constitution. Ganun kasimple yung usapan. Which is to co-convene. Once we receive the, once we receive the articles of impeachment, we must convene as an impeachment court,&quot; he said.&quot;That is part of our work. That is part of our job as Senate,&quot; he added<div> </div><div>SEN. MARCOS CLAIMS LAWMAKERS BEING INTIMIDATED</div>Meanwhile, Sen. Imee Marcos claimed that senators and congressmen are being threatened with cases unless they vote for the impeachment of Duterte.&quot;&#x27;Di ba sinabi ko? Three little letters. Nung una, &#x27;di ba sinabi ko three little letters kasi ang ginagawa nila nung una, FLR for later release. Ibig sabihin, itetenga yung kanilang mga project,&quot; she told Senate reporters. &quot;Ngayon, nasanay na sa hirap at hirap pa rin na talagang walang mga project, walang lumalabas. Ngayon, yung three little letters daw OMB. Kakasuhan daw kayo. Eh, ano ba ito?Nananakot?Pambihira naman. &#x27;Pag hindi sila bumoto sa baba. Eh, may balitang ganyan pati dito sa itaas,&quot; Marcos alleged.She did neither provided proof nor details about her allegations.

"'Di ba ang papel naman ng minority to oppose? Hindi lang impeachment. Lahat ng bagay dito, ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose," said Padilla, a Duterte ally.

"'Di ba ang papel naman ng minority to oppose? Hindi lang impeachment. Lahat ng bagay dito, ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose," said Padilla, a Duterte ally.

Padilla: Senate minority will oppose convening of impeachment court

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Padilla: Senate minority will oppose convening of impeachment court

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 04, 2026 07:12 PM PHT

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Senate

impeachment

Sara Duterte

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