Legarda cites SC ruling in vote to archive Sara impeachment case

Senator Loren Legarda voted in favor of archiving the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing the Supreme Court's recent ruling that declared the complaint constitutionally barred and void from the outset.

In explaining her vote in favor of Senate's archiving the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, Legarda emphasized the binding nature of the High Court’s decision, which also held that the “Senate never acquired jurisdiction over the case.”

“The Supreme Court has ruled with clarity. It declared the impeachment complaint not only constitutionally barred, but void from the beginning, and further held that the Senate did not acquire jurisdiction over the matter,” she said during the Senate plenary session on Wednesday evening.

“This decision, by express pronouncement, is immediately executory,” she continued. 

As stewards of the Constitution and the rule of law, Legarda stressed the Senate’s “fidelity must be strongest precisely when institutions are under strain or pressure.”

Legarda warned that disregarding the High Court’s clear pronouncement would be a breach of constitutional duty.

“To proceed as though the ruling were uncertain or optional would be a departure from our constitutional duty,” she said. 

Legarda clarified, however, that her vote to archive the case is “without prejudice” to the Supreme Court’s final ruling on the pending Motion for Reconsideration. 

“This manifestation is a commitment to respect the present authority of the Court’s Decision while remaining open to its final word,” she said.

“I cast my vote without prejudice to the Supreme Court’s disposition of the pending Motion for Reconsideration. The Court speaks, and at times it speaks again. But until it does, the Senate must not act contrary to what it has already said,” she added.

Legarda reaffirmed her respect for the judiciary. “For these reasons, I vote yes. I honor the decision of the Supreme Court.”

“The Court speaks, and at times it speaks again. But until it does, the Senate must not act contrary to what it has already said,” she added.

The Senate later voted to formally archive the impeachment complaint against Duterte.