19 to 20 senators to abide by SC ruling on Sara Duterte impeachment ~ HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTIONS

Friday, August 1, 2025

19 to 20 senators to abide by SC ruling on Sara Duterte impeachment

Friday, August 01, 2025 Herbert Curia - Promoter No comments

From the Website of INQUIRER
links https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2090201/19-to-20-senators-to-abide-by-sc-ruling-on-sara-duterte-impeachment

Full Supreme Court ruling junking Sara Duterte impeachment

links: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2087192/full-supreme-court-ruling-junking-sara-duterte-impeachment

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19 to 20 senators to abide by SC ruling on Sara Duterte impeachment

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said 19 to 20 senators believe they should abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Estrada derived this figure following an all-senator caucus held last Tuesday, during which the senators discussed the SC’s unanimous decision last week, declaring the impeachment complaint against Duterte unconstitutional.

“Most of the sentiments of my fellow senators are to abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court,” he told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English Thursday night.

When pressed regarding the number of senators favoring immediate dismissal of the impeachment case, Estrada said, “Let’s say, to abide by the ruling, around 19 to 20.”

He said he based his observation on the body language and statements of his colleagues.

Estrada himself believes the Senate should cease considering the impeachment case against Duterte, following the high tribunal’s ruling that it violated the one-year ban on filing an impeachment complaint.

“No more [trial]. Because, as the Supreme Court said, the Senate no longer has jurisdiction since what the House of Representatives filed was unconstitutional, so we don’t have any jurisdiction anymore. And the Senate will not convene as an impeachment court because we don’t have any jurisdiction anymore,” Estrada said partly in Filipino.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a plenary vote on August 6 to decide whether to abide by the SC’s ruling.

Estrada underscored that regardless of whether a motion for reconsideration (MR) is filed with the SC, the Senate should proceed as scheduled on August 6.

The senator warned that failure by the Senate to comply with the SC decision could lead to a constitutional crisis.

“And if there is a constitutional crisis, what will happen next? There will be chaos in our government,” he said.

“We are the ones who make the laws, and yet we won’t follow them? That’s awkward. If lawmakers refuse to follow the Supreme Court, how can we expect ordinary citizens with adverse rulings against them to comply? If they don’t, it would lead to chaos in the government.”

When reminded of the Senate’s exclusive power to try and decide all cases of impeachment, Estrada maintained the necessity to follow the high tribunal’s ruling.

Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III downplayed Estrada’s observation regarding the sentiments of their colleagues, saying they have probably not heard yet the “flaws and questionable points in the SC decision.”

“Let’s wait and see,” Sotto said in a Viber message when sought for comment.

Sotto and three others— Sens. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Bam Aquino and Risa Hontiveros— have signed a draft resolution, urging the SC to reconsider its decision.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, said that if an MR is filed by the House of Representatives, the SC ruling will not then become final until the appeal is resolved.

“So if 19 or 20 are to abide by the ruling of the SC, we should, at the very least, hold in abeyance any vote to dismiss until the MR is resolved so the Senate will know exactly what final ruling we are to abide by and respect,” h e pointed out. /jpv/abc