Sara Duterte's impeachment archived: Senate 'adheres' to Supreme Court ruling
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has archived the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte after 19-4-1 voted in favor of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta's motion to "adhere" to the Supreme Court's ruling.
Instead of convening as an impeachment court on Wednesday, August 6, to deliberate on the high court’s ruling that nullified the impeachment and declared it unconstitutional, the Senate addressed the matter through motions as a legislative body.
The debate began when Marcoleta moved to dismiss the impeachment, prompting hours of back-and-forth rebuttals.
Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto later moved to table the motion, arguing the need to wait for the Supreme Court's resolution on the House’s motion for reconsideration filed on August 4.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros seconded the motion. However, Senate President Chiz Escudero directed the chamber to conduct nominal voting on Sotto’s motion before it could deliberate on Marcoleta’s.
Sotto's motion was junked in a 5-19 vote. Only Hontiveros, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Sen. Bam Aquino, Sen. Ping Lacson and Sotto voted in favor of the motion to wait for the high court's resolution on the appeal.
RELATED: Senate nixes Sotto’s push to vote later, proceeds with motion to archive articles
Marcoleta’s motion was revised to use the term “archive” instead of “dismiss,” based on Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s suggestion.
It can be recalled that Cayetano also previously helped Sen. Bato dela Rosa on June 10, when the latter sought to dismiss the impeachment, the same day the Senate of the 19th Congress convened as an impeachment court.
Cayetano proposed amending the motion to return the articles of impeachment and seek certification on the complaint’s constitutionality. This motion also sailed with a majority voting in favor of remanding the complaint.
On Wednesday, acting as the 20th Congress, 19 senators voted to archive the articles of impeachment, while four voted against and one abstained.
Who voted yes (19)
- Cayetano, Alan Peter Cayetano
- Cayetano, Pia
- Dela Rosa, Ronald
- Ejercito, JV
- Escudero, Francis
- Estrada, Jinggoy
- Gatchalian, Win
- Go, Bong
- Lapid, Lito
- Legarda, Loren
- Marcos, Imee
- Marcoleta, Rodante
- Padilla, Robin
- Tulfo, Erwin
- Tulfo, Raffy
- Villanueva, Joel
- Villar, Camille
- Villar, Mark
- Zubiri, Migz
Who voted no (4)
- Aquino, Bam
- Hontiveros, Risa
- Pangilinan, Kiko
- Sotto, Tito
Who abstained (1)
- Lacson, Panfilo
There is still uncertainty, however, over what it truly means to “archive” the articles of impeachment. For senators who voted against the move, such as Hontiveros, it amounts to "killing" the impeachment against the second-highest official in the land altogether.
It took the Senate around six hours to decide on the impeachment, with the majority arguing that the chamber needed to “respect” the Supreme Court’s July 25 ruling.
The high court unanimously held that the Senate could not acquire jurisdiction over an impeachment deemed unconstitutional, stating its decision is "immediately executory."
What comes next is the Supreme Court’s decision on the motion for reconsideration. If the court denies it, the House will have to wait until Feb. 6, 2026 — in line with the one-year bar rule — before it can file another impeachment complaint against Duterte.
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