Senate President Chiz Escudero Speaks on 18-5 Vote To Return Articles of Impeachment vs. VP Sara Duterte To House
CHIZ ESCUDERO – The Senate President clarified that the return of the impeachment rap against Vice President Sara Duterte does not mean dismissal.
On Monday, Senate Pres. Escudero took the oath as the presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial against Vice Pres. Duterte. It came after the Senate Minority made a move to request the start of the trial following its rescheduling.
The reading of the articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives’ prosecution team was supposedly scheduled last June 2 but it was moved to June 11. The move did not sit well with many people including civil society groups that launched protests calling for the immediate start of Duterte’s trial.
Following the oath-taking of Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero on Monday as the impeachment court’s presiding officer in the trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, on Tuesday, the rest of the senators took their oath as senator-judges of the impeachment court.
However, while most of the senators wore their robes for the impeachment trial against Vice Pres. Duterte during their oath, three (3) senators did not do so — senators Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Cynthia Villar.
The senators convened as an impeachment court in the trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano filed a motion that specified the return of the articles of impeachment against Duterte to the House.
The senators voted on the motion of Cayetano. With the 18-5 voting, the impeachment court has decided to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives. Here are the lawmakers who voted in favor of Cayetano’s motion:
- Alan Peter Cayetano
- Pia Cayetano
- Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
- JV Ejercito
- Chiz Escudero
- Jinggoy Estrada
- Bong Go
- Lito Lapid
- Loren Legarda
- Imee Marcos
- Robin Padilla
- Bong Revilla
- Francis Tolentino
- Raffy Tulfo
- Joel Villanueva
- Cynthia Villar
- Mark Villar
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
Only five (5) lawmakers were not in favor of the motion of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to return the articles of impeachment to the House. There were no senators who abstained from voting.
- Risa Hontiveros
- Koko Pimentel
- Nancy Binay
- Grace Poe
- Sherwin Gatchalian
Following the 18-5 voting of the senators on the motion to return the articles of impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to the House, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero clarified that the move does not equate to dismissal. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, he made the clarification recognizing the doubts in some individuals in or out of the Senate.
“Walang intention na idismiss ang kasong ito. Ang intention ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon na ang mga prosecutors ay sumagot sa mga ilang itinuturing na mga katarungan nang hindi inaaksaya ang panahon ng Korte at nang hindi pa hinuhusgahan ang bagay na ito,” Escudero said.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero also clarified that the senators voted on the “return” motion and not judging the alleged violation of the one-year ban nor deciding that the 20th Congress is not in favor of the impeachment complaint.
Based on the report, the Senate still issued summons to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte — a proof that the impeachment case has not been dismissed. She is given 10 days to respond to the complaint.
Previously, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero asserted that the Senate is not at fault over the delay of Duterte’s impeachment trial.