A possible resignation could not effectively save impeached Vice President Sara Duterte from being permanently barred from seeking public office, a House impeachment prosecutor said Monday, dismissing claims that stepping down is the last resort for the VP to pursue presidential ambitions in 2028. 

In a briefing, 1-Rider Rep. Ramon Gutierrez stressed that the Senate impeachment court still has the jurisdiction whether it will mete out a penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office against Duterte even in the event that she resigns before or during the trial.

According to Gutierrez, a lawyer and one of the 11-member prosecution team formed to persecute the VP on charges of alleged betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes, a possible resignation does not nullify the impeachment process and its corresponding penalties.

“The purpose of impeachment is one, removal from office, and two, the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding a public office. And I believe resignation, while it might avoid the first penalty, the second penalty is still there,” he told reporters.

“I don’t think you should take away the power from the Senate impeachment court to impose that second penalty just by simple resignation,” the lawmaker added.

Nonetheless, Gutierrez averred that the prosecution panel will be prepared for any scenario. 

“Even with the resignation, that would depend on the timeline, but we would still prepare for it. If there is a resignation but the impeachment court says go ahead, then we will be prepared. If the resignation happens during the trial, we will be prepared," he asserted.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on 5 February with an overwhelming 215 lawmakers, or more than double the required 1/3 votes (102 signatories), voting to endorse the articles of impeachment to the Senate. 

The House outlined seven impeachable offenses against Duterte, including her alleged plot targeting former ally, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as her purported misappropriation of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office and the Department of Education during her tenure as its secretary.

Duterte has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and is keen that the impeachment, which was a result of the exhaustive House hearings into the alleged misuse of her confidential funds, is part of a campaign to discredit her as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

Earlier, supporters of VP Duterte suggested that she voluntarily resign in order to prevent a possible conviction that could block her from running for the highest post. The VP, however, maintained that she had not yet considered that option.

The Senate will need a two-thirds vote or at least 16 of the 24 sitting senators to convict Duterte. If convicted, she will be perpetually disqualified from holding any public office in the future.

The Senate is expected to convene as an impeachment tribunal either before the end of the present 19th Congress (30 June) or the start of the incoming 20th Congress (21 July) to try Duterte. 

However, pro-impeachment supporters asserted that the Senate should immediately start the impeachment proceedings despite that Congress is currently on a four-month break as mandated by the Constitution.

“While we respect the Senate President’s [Francis Escudero] pronouncements, it’s not the Congress that urging the Senate but it’s the Constitution itself provides that when an impeachment complaint is filed in the Senate, the trial shall forthwith proceed,” Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, also a House prosecutor, said in a separate interview.

Escudero previously said that holding a trial during the congressional break “legally cannot be done” since the articles of impeachment—serving as the basis for the impeachment court to be convened—were not referred to the plenary before Congress adjourned on 5 February.

Defensor, however, has consistently maintained that the impeachment trial is a non-legislative act, and thus Congress’ adjournment has nothing to with it and could not be cited as an excuse to delay the proceedings.

"The impeachment is sui generis, so this is a different function of the senate given by our Constitution. It does not have to terminate when the 19th Congress ends, only the legislative functions,” he stated.

Last week, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, warned that the House’s effort to impeach Duterte would go to waste if the Senate fails to acquire jurisdiction over the case before the new Congress takes over.

The Senate could only take jurisdiction if Escudero takes oath as the presiding judge of the impeachment tribunal. If this happens, the trial can continue even if the House’s composition changes in the 20th Congress.

Defensor, on the other hand, argued that the trial could cross over in the 20th Congress, especially since half of the 24-member Senate had “already have cognizance on the impeachment complaint when it was trasmitted to them” before Congress went on recess.