Sara given ten days to present defense; allies’ ploys backfired

The impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte has begun – despite ploys by her loyalist senators to block it.

The Senate convened as the impeachment court – under watch by a public impatient with delays.

On Monday, Senate President Chiz Escudero took oath as presiding officer, and on Tuesday the other senators as judges.

The Senate’s “remand” is not a return of the case to the House prosecutors. It is an order for:

• The 19th House to certify the non-violation of the Constitution’s Article XI, Section 3(5), and

• The 20th House to communicate to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint.

“The order expressly states that it’s not a dismissal of the case,” former Supreme Court senior justice Antonio Carpio notes. “It actually directs that summons be served on VP Sara for her to answer the complaint.”

That sent Sara’s lawyers rushing to the Supreme Court Wednesday to plead for injunction against the Senate trial.

Sara’s lawyers were questioning since February the House’s transmittal of the impeachment rap to the Senate. They claim it is unconstitutional for:

• Breaking Article XI, Section 3(5), that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year” and

• The rap may not cross over from the 19th to the 20th Congresses.

Also Wednesday the House plenary humbly approved the Senate’s required certification. It repeated what Rep. Ysabel Zamora, one of 11 House prosecutors, has long been explaining:

• That three impeachment complaints were filed one after the other starting Dec. 2nd, 2024;

• That the House verified and consolidated the three complaints into one;

• That the consolidated complaint was presented to the House on the 10th session day, Feb. 5th, 2025, in compliance with Section 3(2), “The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof” and

• That 215 of 306 congressmen signed the endorsed complaint – or double the required in Section 3(3), “A vote of at least one-third of all the members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution.”

Wednesday’s House plenary deferred sending the certification of “constitutional compliance” pending Senate clarification of the second order:

How can the 19th House commit the 20th House to express “willingness and readiness to pursue the impeachment complaint” when the latter is inexistent till opening on the fourth Monday of July?

Escudero himself said Wednesday that the current Senate cannot bind the 20th Congress.

The ball is back to the Senate court.

Carpio further notes: “The Senate ‘remand’ states that the next move will be decided by the 20th Congress, admitting a crossover of the impeachment process.”

“In effect, the Senate ‘remand’ only angered the people without achieving anything substantive for VP Sara.”

“Much ado about nothing,” Shakespeare quipped 427 years ago. Transliterated to Tagalog, “Pagkahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy.”

The Senate reaped public derision. Hundreds of civic, professional, academic and religious groups reminded senators to “forthwith proceed” with trial as the Constitution states. Thousands demonstrated at the Senate and in town plazas.

The Senate’s image is in tatters. A retired Navy commando colonel posted online: “If senators kneel to a family in Davao, how can we expect them to stand up to China?”

Sara has 10 days to present her defense from seven charges. She must convince senators that:

(1) Her Nov. 23rd, 2024 livestream admission of hiring an assassin is not a murder threat against President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;

(2) Her payment of P612 million to inexistent payees like Mary Grace Piattos, Chippy McDonald, Carlos Oishi, Amoy Liu, Patty Ting, Jay Kamote, Mico Harina, Miggy Mango, Beverly Pompano, Ralph Bacon, Sala Casim and Joug de Asim is not fund misuse;

(3) Her P30,000-P50,000 monthly handouts to OVP and DepEd procurement heads are not bribery;

(4) Her P2-billion secret deposit is not hidden wealth, especially since bank secrecy is waived by impeachment trials;

(5) Despite sworn statements of victims’ families, she has nothing to do with extrajudicial killings during her Davao City mayoralty;

(6) Despite agitational public speeches, she did not incite sedition and

(7) Despite “those misdeeds,” she did not abuse power.

“The ‘remand’ was a stain to the Senate,” congresswoman-elect Leila de Lima says. It only fueled public suspicion. More mass actions are planned in the coming weeks. Memes are spreading about one senator’s impending arrest by the International Criminal Court, and Facebook events to another’s scorching.

Sen. Alan Cayetano, foreign secretary of Sara’s father ex-president Rody Duterte, conducted “remand” as a compromise. Sen. Robin Padilla, emphasizing being an ex-con and frequent criminal indictee to know enough about court proceedings, proposed Monday to dismiss Sara’s case outright. Bato Dela Rosa, seconded by Bong Go, re-tabled it Tuesday.

Other senator-judges were aghast. Only a litigant, usually the accused, proposes dismissal – never the judge.

Shakespeare wrote, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

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