Philippine Senate shelves V-P Sara Duterte’s impeachment case

MANILA – Philippine senators on Aug 6 voted to shelve the impeachment complaint against Vice-President Sara Duterte, after the top court ruled it unconstitutional.

The motion to archive – approved by 19 of 24 senators – adheres with

the Supreme Court ruling voiding the complaint

against Ms Duterte, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said during live-streamed proceedings. Four senators voted against the motion and one abstained.

The move renders the impeachment complaint against Ms Duterte as “dead” unless the top court reverses its ruling, according to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

That means the Senate will not proceed with

the impeachment trial against her,

which had been set to begin in August – in yet another relief for the embattled politician.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who voted in favour of archiving, said: “Restraint is not weakness. It is obedience to constitutional order.”

The Supreme Court in July unanimously decided that the complaint against Ms Duterte defied the constitutional rule that only one impeachment proceeding may be initiated against the same official within a year.

The House of Representatives, which impeached the Vice-President, asked the court on Aug 4 to reverse its decision.

It said impeachment is a political process entrusted to Congress and that the proceedings followed the Constitution.

Ms Duterte, daughter of former leader Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached in February by the House on accusations that include plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and misusing public funds. She denies the charges.

She has feuded with Mr Marcos after their 2022 election team-up collapsed due to policy differences and public criticisms against each other’s families.

The Duterte clan showed its political clout during the midterm elections in May, where Mr Marcos’ Senate slate underperformed.

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, who voted against archiving the complaint, said: “The 1987 Constitution entrusted the duty to try and decide all cases of impeachment to the Senate. Today we are voting to abandon this mandate.

“It is our institution, which, in the words of colleagues, killed the articles of impeachment.” Bloomberg.