“Truly disappointing,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said in Filipino on Saturday, reacting to the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively stopped the Senate from trying Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case.

“My soul is disturbed,” she added. “The Constitution clearly gives this duty to the Senate alone.”

The Court cited a technicality: the one-year bar on filing multiple impeachment complaints. Hontiveros, however, insisted that only one complaint reached the Senate.

“It’s like the ruling invented extra hurdles for future impeachments. Why make the bar higher when we’re just trying to do our job?” she said.

Still processing her shock, Hontiveros said she had hoped the justices would respect the impeachment process.

“But here we are, wounded — not just the Senate, but the public’s right to demand accountability,” she said, adding: “No one’s asking for a constitutional crisis. But this kind of ruling nudges us closer.”

Hontiveros also had a word of caution: “Anyone who wants to dodge accountability just got a masterclass.”

Asked if there was any chance the impeachment trial could still happen, she replied with classic optimism: “While there’s life, there’s hope.”

She said some senators and legal experts were weighing a motion for reconsideration.

“There are thoughtful articles and advice floating around suggesting how we might still save the impeachment process — not just for the Senate, but for the people,” she said.