Impeach raps vs VP Sara sent to Speaker’s office

MANILA, Philippines — The two impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte were transmitted on Thursday afternoon to the Office of Speaker Faustino Dy III, in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of the House of Representatives, House Secretary-General Cheloy Garafil announced.

“Upon receipt and verification of the complaints and their accompanying endorsements, the Office of the Secretary-General forwarded the documents to the Office of the Speaker for appropriate action,” Garafil said yesterday.

Garafil said her office performs a ministerial duty and administrative function, guided at all times by the Constitution, the Rules of the House and longstanding protocol.

She said the first verified impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed by members of the Makabayan coalition and endorsed by party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Sarah Jane Elago of Gabriela Women’s Party and Renee Louise Co of Kabataan.

Party-list Reps. Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal and Perci Cendaña of Akbayan endorsed the second impeachment complaint filed by progressive organizations and civil society groups.

‘Dead in the water’

Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial would likely be dead in the water if Senate President Vicente Sotto III is ousted from the chamber’s leadership by her allies, former Senate president Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

While Sotto confirmed a “thwarted attempt” on his leadership earlier this week, Drilon said attempts to unseat the Senate President are expected to continue and intensify as the 2028 elections draw near, cautioning that a change in Senate leadership would effectively shield the Vice President from accountability.

“If Tito Sotto is replaced and the Senate president will come from the minority, there will be no trial in the Senate,” Drilon told radio dzMM.

He pointed to the political alignment of those seeking to depose Sotto, noting that a successor from the minority bloc would likely stall the proceedings.

“That is what I think will happen if Senator Sotto is replaced with somebody from the camp of Duterte, which is in the minority,” he added.

According to Drilon, retaining Sotto is the only assurance that the impeachment complaint – should it be transmitted by the House of Representatives – will be given due course.

“If Tito Sotto will remain as Senate President there’s a chance, that assuming that the House will send the complaint to the Senate, that there will be a trial,” Drilon said.

Sotto, for his part, denied that an offer was made to Sen. Loren Legarda to prevent his removal, saying there were never enough votes to unseat him.

“No, no, no, that’s inaccurate, as a matter of fact, false,” Sotto said at a press conference Friday when asked if a proposal to let Legarda assume the Senate presidency before the 2028 elections was meant to stop a leadership coup.

He said that as early as the roll call during session, it was clear there was no motion and no written support to remove the leadership.

“To unseat the leader, you must have 13 votes. The 13 votes, you must have it in writing,” Sotto said, stressing that verbal commitments are insufficient and risky.

“That is a very dangerous move, you will be embarrassed,” he added.

Under longstanding Senate practice, he said, those seeking a change present a written manifesto to the sitting Senate President, who then resigns.

“The Senate President in all the times, not most of the time, will resign,” he said.

Sotto maintained the minority bloc did not have the numbers.

“No. Where will they get the numbers? You need to get the numbers from the majority… So to your question, the answer is no,” he said.

Despite this, Sotto bared earlier this week that the majority is looking to install Legarda as Senate President after the 2027 budget is passed.

He suggested the rumors of a leadership change may have been triggered by the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos as chair of the committee on foreign relations and the leak of a draft Blue Ribbon committee report on alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

“The trigger here is the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos from the committee on foreign relations. That is one,” Sotto said, adding that the circulated draft report had not yet completed the required committee process.

Sotto preps for trial

Unfazed by the leadership rumors, Sotto confirmed he has already begun intensive preparations for a potential trial. He revealed that he has been undergoing briefings for the past two weeks with justices from the Court of Appeals and the Court of Tax Appeals.

“I am being briefed by some justice friends because I would want to concentrate on how to be the presiding officer of impeachment court when it comes to rules of evidence and rules on criminal procedure,” Sotto said.

Sotto emphasized that even as a non-lawyer, he must master the proceedings to manage the trial effectively, noting that opposing counsels will be legal heavyweights.

“Briefing, briefing, briefing. I am also catching up on my reading. Briefing because there are things you won’t learn in books,” he noted.

Should the articles of impeachment reach the Senate, Sotto said he intends to impose a grueling schedule to ensure a swift resolution.

He plans to propose that regular legislative work be compressed into the morning hours (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) Monday to Wednesday, while the impeachment court sits five days a week in the afternoons.

“Most probably I would suggest that we do Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. onwards in the impeachment court,” Sotto said.

“You cannot prolong it, it needs to be done as soon as possible, the fastest way possible. Unfair to the public and unfair to the person being charged,” he said.

Sotto also dismissed concerns about presiding over the court without a law degree. “I see no difference... You follow the procedures. And if there’s something controversial, you throw it to the body,” Sotto said.

Same process

The House committee on justice will adopt the process it used in handling the impeachment complaints against President Marcos for those filed against Vice President Duterte, San Juan Rep. and committee vice chair Bel Zamora said on Friday.

Zamora, in an interview with “Storycon” on One News, said they expect the complaints against Duterte to be referred to the committee next week.

“We will proceed as we did with the BBM complaint,” she said. “Similar to the deliberations on the impeachment complaints against the President, we will tackle the form first, then we will tackle the substance.”

Two groups, led by Makabayan bloc and Tindig Pilipinas, filed separate complaints against Duterte on Monday after the supposed expiration of the one-year bar rule.

Zamora said the committee will immediately calendar the hearings once the complaints have been referred to them.

Fast track

The articles of impeachment against Vice President Duterte can be sent directly to the Senate through an express route if enough lawmakers endorse it, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said yesterday.

He said the formal transmittal of the complaint opens two possible tracks under the Constitution and House rules.

“This, however, does not preclude one-third of all House members from endorsing articles of impeachment against the Vice President for direct transmittal to the Senate, so long as no plenary referral has yet been made to the House committee on justice,” Ridon said.

Under this scenario, Ridon said the House may bypass committee proceedings if the required number of lawmakers endorse the articles of impeachment before the plenary refers the cases to the justice panel. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Janvic Mateo