3-day rally set over Senate delay on VP Sara trial

Progressive groups will stage a series of protests starting next week to press the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and forthwith proceed with the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The mass movement followed the senators’ purported plan to dismiss outright the articles of impeachment lodged by the House of Representatives against the second-highest leader.

Akbayan Partylist, civil society coalition Tindig Pilipinas, student and youth groups, and members of various organizations are set to troop to the Senate building in Pasay City to demand compliance with its constitutional duty and immediately start the impeachment trial without further delay.

The three-day rally will be held from Monday to Wednesday—the last session week before Congress adjourns sine die.

Akbayan, which topped the partylist race in the recently concluded polls with a commanding 2.8 million votes, accused the Senate leadership of deliberately stalling the impeachment proceedings, in blatant violation of their sworn duty.

Senator Imee Marcos, a staunch Duterte ally, confirmed that several versions of draft resolutions seek de facto dismissal of the articles of impeachment against Duterte before they even reach the trial stage. Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, another longtime pro-Duterte supporter, admitted to initiating such a plan.

Rep.-elect Chel Diokno, who is set to join the panel of House prosecutors, asserted that such a move will amount to a brazen disregard of their duty to uphold accountability and will set a dangerous precedent for other politicians and future leaders.

“The Senate has a constitutional duty to conduct the trial and cannot simply dismiss it through a resolution. The continued delay in the proceedings and the attempt to dismiss the case through a mere resolution are deeply concerning, as they risk undermining the rule of law and the democratic principle of checks and balances,” he contended.

“The Senate cannot be allowed to escape its duties based on limitations which they themselves seem to have designed. Upholding accountability and justice is a constitutional mandate of the Senate and a fundamental part of good governance,” the seasoned lawyer added.

Senate President Chiz Escudero moved the House prosecution’s presentation of the articles of impeachment from 2 to 11 June, citing the need to prioritize the passage of priority legislation of the administration.

The date set, however, falls on Wednesday, the last session day of the 19th Congress, two days before the sine die adjournment. Congress only holds sessions from Monday to Wednesday, effectively leaving the Senate with no choice but to take up the impeachment when the new Congress opens on 28 July.

Pro-impeachment groups, however, viewed this as a calculated move to strategically delay the proceedings to let the VP off the hook.

Akbayan President Rafaela David lamented that this “unusual delay” only fuels growing suspicions that senators favor Duterte—seen as the frontrunner for the 2028 presidential polls—for alleged fear of political retaliation, especially with the next elections.

“If VP Sara’s allies in the Senate are adamant in defending her, then they should immediately support commencing her impeachment trial. They will have all the chance to study the charges against her and cross-examine the documents and witnesses,” David stressed.

Over 100 faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Law signed an open letter to the senators on Thursday, strongly urging them to proceed with Duterte’s impeachment.

Duterte, impeached by the House of Representatives on 5 February, is being accused of graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and high crimes.

The House laid out seven articles of impeachment, centered on an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s family and the misappropriation of more than P600 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as secretary.

Duterte has categorically denied the allegations. She said she’s ready for the trial, saying it would be a “bloodbath.”

The Senate’s apparent reluctance to immediately convene as an impeachment court has triggered concerns that some senators are strategically terminating the impeachment proceedings prematurely.

Senator Francis Tolentino, a lawyer, argued that the impeachment complaint against the VP would be effectively dismissed because unfinished business cannot be carried over in the 20th Congress.

Constitutionalists and legislators shared divergent stances on whether the impeachment could proceed in the 20th Congress. Some experts argued that the Senate could no longer act on the impeachment in the 20th Congress, raising concerns that it may breach the Constitution, which prohibits the filing of more than one impeachment case against the same official within a one-year period.

Under Senate Rule 44, pending matters, such as bills, resolutions, and committee hearings, shall be terminated upon the adjournment of every Congress, though they “may be taken by the succeeding Congress as if presented for the first time.”

But House prosecutors insisted that impeachment is sui generis—a class of its own—not legislative in nature, and therefore not subject to standard congressional rules.

Duterte herself petitioned the impeachment complaint before the Supreme Court, accusing the House of Representatives of circumventing the one-year bar when they impeached her on 5 February, only two months after three earlier complaints were filed against her in December last year.

At least 16 affirmative votes out of 24 senator-judges are needed to convict and permanently bar her from holding public office, derailing her potential bid for the presidency.

However, with the composition of the Senate in the next Congress, it has been speculated that Duterte may be cleared of the charges, as she already has the confidence of six of the senator-judges, who are allied with her family: Senator Robin Padilla, re-elected Senators Dela Rosa, Marcos, Christopher “Bong” Go, and incoming Senators Camille Villar and Rodante Marcoleta.

This suggests that the VP only needs three more votes to get off scot-free of the charges.