House minority lawmakers on Monday berated the Senate for continuously delaying the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, urging it to stop using pending bills as an excuse to postpone proceedings that have now been on hold for four months.
Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. criticized Senate President Chiz Escudero for moving the presentation of the articles of impeachment from 2 June to 11 June. He warned that the delay sets a “dangerous precedent” and gives Duterte a reprieve while the public continues to demand accountability.
“Are we to tell the Filipino people that impeachable offenses committed by the second-highest official of the land are less urgent than our legislative targets? Is this delay not, in effect, a compromise of our solemn duty as public servants sworn to uphold the Constitution?” the Liberal Party stalwart said.
“When did convenience become a valid excuse to delay justice? When did we decide that institutional housekeeping is more important than institutional integrity?” he added.
Bordado further argued that the gravity of the allegations against Duterte — including the alleged misuse of over P600 million in confidential funds, defiance of congressional oversight, and unbecoming conduct — should compel the Senate to begin the long-stalled trial.
He urged senators, who will sit as judges, to set aside partisanship and instead prioritize upholding the rule of law.
“As legislators, we are often measured not by what we pass, but by what we permit. If we permit delay in the face of alleged abuses of power, then we too become complicit in the erosion of our democracy,” he stressed. “The nation is watching. And the nation deserves better.”
Rep. France Castro of ACT Teachers Party-list echoed the concern, warning that the failure to hold Duterte accountable could open the door to gross abuse and corruption, normalizing the mishandling of public funds.
For months, the impeachment trial has remained on the back burner, with House prosecutors and Escudero trading barbs over the latter’s apparent reluctance to convene the Senate as an impeachment court. Escudero has cited the urgency of passing 12 priority administration bills before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on 14 June.
Escudero maintained that the impeachment trial could be deferred until the next Congress, noting that the priority bills risk lapsing without immediate action.
This, however, raised alarms among House members, who see the move as a veiled attempt to derail the trial without a proper hearing.
Constitutionalists and lawmakers remain divided on whether the impeachment complaint can carry over into the 20th Congress. Some legal experts argue the Senate cannot act on the case in the next Congress without violating the Constitution’s one-year bar on filing more than one impeachment case against the same official.
Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal warned that reviving the impeachment case in the next Congress could breach this one-year prohibition, as it would be treated “as if it were presented for the first time.”
Citing Senate Rule 44, Macalintal noted that unfinished business — such as bills and resolutions — is terminated at the adjournment of each Congress and may only be reintroduced as newly filed in the next one.
However, House prosecutors argued that impeachment is sui generis — a class of its own — and is not legislative in nature. As such, they say it should not be subject to standard congressional rules.
Speaker Martin Romualdez, whom Duterte accused of orchestrating the impeachment, said the House defers to the Senate’s “sound discretion as to how they want to proceed and conduct” the trial.
Duterte herself petitioned the Supreme Court to void the impeachment complaint, accusing the House of circumventing the one-year bar by approving the complaint on 5 February — only two months after three earlier complaints were filed in December 2023.
The Vice President is facing accusations of graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution. A conviction would require 16 affirmative votes from the 24-member Senate and would permanently bar her from holding public office, derailing any potential bid for the presidency.