Robin Padilla files resolution to dismiss impeachment trial against Sara Duterte

Sen. Robin Padilla. Photo from Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines—  Senator Robin Padilla has moved to declare the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte terminated before the Senate could even convene as an impeachment court.

Padilla sought the termination of the impeachment proceedings through Senate Resolution No. 1371  he filed at 5:42 p.m. on  Monday.

Notably, his resolution was lodged while senators were debating in the plenary on Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko”  Pimentel’s motion, urging the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court.

In his resolution, Padilla noted that the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte were transmitted to the Senate for trial by the House of Representatives last February  5.

Until now, however, the Articles of Impeachment were not referred to the Senate plenary for disposition “thereby precluding referral thereof to the  Senate convened as an impeachment court pursuant to Section 3(6), Article  XI of the Constitution,” he said.

Padilla also cited a provision in the Senate rules which state that all pending matters and proceedings shall terminate upon the expiration of one Congress.

“The Articles of Impeachment against Vice-President Sara Zimmerman Duterte is one such pending matter, and the consideration thereof is one such pending proceeding,” he said.

“From all the foregoing, it is indubitably clear that the matter of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice-President Sara Zimmerman Duterte and its consideration by the present Senate cannot be fully accomplished by the expiration of the Nineteenth Congress on 30 June 2025, thereby resulting in its termination,” the senator added.

Because of this, Padilla said the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President should be “declared as terminated” in accordance with the Senate rules.

This is not the first time that the possible dismissal of the impeachment case against Duterte was floated.

On June 2, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino manifested in the plenary that the impeachment case against the Vice President might be considered “functionally dismissed by constitutional operation” if the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, fails to conclude the trial by June 30, 2025, the last day of the 19th Congress.

According to him, the impeachment proceedings could not cross over to the 20th Congress “for lack of constitutional authority.”

Also last week, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa owned up to a draft resolution that seeks to declare the “de facto dismissal” of the impeachment case against Duterte.

“Consistent with the foregoing, the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte must necessarily be deemed DE FACTO DISMISSED by virtue of the inability of the Senate to properly consider the same because of the timing of the transmittal thereof by the House of Representatives,” the draft resolution read.

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted by the House to the Senate for trial just hours before Congress went on a four-month break.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero then set the presentation of charges by the House’s panel of prosecutors on June 2 and the convening of the Senate impeachment court the following day.

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