Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson Atty. Christian Monsod said it is the Filipino people who are the "losers" after the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte were returned to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 10 June.
"The problem here, they are creating new issues that should not have been created, that should not have been raised," Monsod said in a radio interview on Wednesday, 11 June.
"It's like [the Senate] wants to derail, delay, [or] stop the process. That is not part of their job," Monsod added.
Monsod made the remarks after Duterte's impeachment trial hit a major roadblock Tuesday night as the Senate voted 18-5 to halt proceedings and require the House of Representatives to first prove the case is not unconstitutional.
Monsod likewise explained that it is the court that should make a ruling on whether Duterte's impeachment is constitutional or not.
This came after senators demanded that the House first prove it did not violate the Constitution, which bars initiating impeachment proceedings against the same official more than once within a year.
"It is not for the Senate to determine whether it is constitutional or not," he continued.
"The only job of the Senate, according to the Constitution, is to hold the trial. Clearly, they must proceed with the trial," he added.
Monsod stressed that the Senate's job is "merely to hear the case."
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in February for "high crimes," including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against her former ally and running mate, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.