By ALFRED GABOT, Editor in Chief

PASAY CITY – The House of Representatives impeachment bid of Vice President Sara Duterte suffered temporary setback on June 10 as the Senate headed by Sen. Francis Escudero, acting as Impeachment Tribunal on its first day of session, voted 18-5 to return the complaint to the House for clarification over alleged infirmities of their impeachment bid, short of dismissing it outright.

At the same time, the Senate Impeachment Tribunal, in a late night decision, formally issued a writ of summons to Vice President Duterte, directing her to respond within 10 unextendable days to the articles of impeachment filed by the House after receiving the summons, indicating that the case was still active.

The following day, June 11, Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Lt. Gen. Roberto Ancan served the summons to Duterte signed by Escudero and the Office of the Vice President confirmed it received the summons at at 11:05 a.m.

The Senate Impeachment Court summons also commanded VP Duterte to appear before them on a date to be announced by the presiding officer.

“You the said Vice President, are likewise hereby summoned to appear before the Senate of the Philippines… and then and there to abide by, obey, and perform such orders, directions and judgments as the Senate sitting as an impeachment court shall make in the premises according to the Constitution and laws of the Philippines,” the summons stated.

Escudero also wrote to Speaker Martin Romualdez to cancel the appearance of the congressmen prosecutor tasked to appear in what should have been the first hearing of the impeachment court Wednesday, June 11, for the presentation of the articles, saying it had been mooted by the events of Tuesday night.

In a related development, lawyer Israelito Torreon asked the Supreme Court on June 11 to prevent the continuation of the impeachment process against VP Duterte from the current 19th Congress to the 20th Congress.

Stressing that the impeachment cannot crossover from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress, Torreon made the call in a supplemental motion to the petition for certiorari and prohibition with a prayer for a temporary restraining order he filed last February.

The Senate Impeachment Court decision surprised many, including the House prosecutors and legal experts who claimed the Senate has no power to remand the case to the House that put the case in limbo and possibly triggering a constitutional crisis while the Supreme Court has not decided on petitions questioning the impeachment complaint.

“The Senate’s decision effectively nullifies the House’s constitutional prerogative to impeach, and denies the Filipino people their right to see justice served through proper constitutional channels,” said the Makabayan lawmakers who were active in the House hearings investigating VP Duterte and in filing the impeachment complaint against her.

The House of Representatives was set to meet to discuss its next moves after what some described as  “dangerous precedent” set by the Senate when it sent the impeachment case against Vice President  Duterte back to the House.

When it held its session on June 11, the House adopted a resolution certifying that the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte initiated on February 5 did not violate the 1987 Constitution. The Senate Impeachment Court had asked for that certification.

Lawmakers adopted House Resolution No. 2346 certifying that the impeachment proceedings fully complied with Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the 1987 Constitution, including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints.

The resolution was introduced by House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, House Deputy Speaker Rep. David “Jay-Jay” Suarez of Quezon, and House Majority Leader Rep. Jose Manuel Dalipe of Zamboanga City.

“The Senate made a dangerous precedent. It was a clear breach of their duty at saka a breach of public trust,” House impeachment prosecutor and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said. “To remand is not an option; it is either acquit or convict after trial. Malinaw na pagsagasa ito sa ating Konstitusyon at sa ating demokrasya,” he  added.

The House prosecutors on June 11 said they will seek clarification from the Senate Impeachment Court on its summons and orders like the return of the complaint to the House and they deferred accepting the articles of impeachment.

“We will be seeking for clarification first and that’s why we opted to defer receiving the orders,”  Luistro said in a press conference with some of the House prosecutors.

At the same time, they said they are optimistic that the Senate trial of VP Duterte will proceed despite the upper chamber’s move to return the complaint to them to clarify legal questions.

Rep. Gerville  Luistro of Batangas, representing the House prosecutors, said they welcome the issuance of summons to the Vice President. 

The move, she said, means that the impeachment court has already acquired jurisdiction over the vice president.

Luistro said the House has complied with all the constitutional requirements in sending the impeachment complaint to the Senate.

Following the Senate Impeachment Tribunal’s decision, Duterte’s office reiterated an earlier statement that she was ready to “expose the baselessness of the accusations” while her critics and House prosecutors assailed the Tribunal’s decision.

“The impeachment process must never be weaponized to harass, silence, or eliminate political opponents,” it said.

An official of the OVP also reiterated the defense team’s position that accusations against the Vice President in the impeachment trial are baseless, and that the fourth impeachment complaint that the House of Representatives eventually transmitted to the Senate is marred by constitutional infirmities. 

With the motion approved, there would be no more presentation of the articles of impeachment by the House prosecution panel. The presentation was originally scheduled for June 11.

The Tribunal’s decision in the outgoing 19^th Congress means that the House may opt to refile, revise or affirm its impeachment complaint in the 20th Congress where it may cross over, although the issue of crossover has also divided the Senate Tribunal and may later be questioned as another constitutional infirmity

Outgoing Sen. Francis Tolentino, an expert of the impeachment process in the. United States where he also studied law, however, said the impeachment complaint cannot crossover from the 19^th Congress which ends on June 30 to the incoming 20^th Congress.

“Naniniwala po ako na hindi po talaga pwede at dapat tumawid (I firmly believe that it really cannot and should not carry over),” said Tolentino, who will not be part of the 20^th Congress as he lost in his reelection bid together with Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. in the May 12 election. .

With its unanimous decision, the Senate asked the House to certify whether the complaint violates the constitutional one-year bar on multiple impeachment attempts, a point of contention raised in Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa’s initial motion to dismiss, citing Article XI, Section 2, paragraph 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

The Tribunal’s actions were triggered by a motion of Sen. Dela Rosa, seconded by Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, to dismiss the impeachment complaint outright due to alleged infirmities, such as violation of the Constitution on the filing of only one complaint in one year, citing that the complaint filed before the Senate an hour before it adjourned last February was the fourth such complaint filed before the. House of Representatives.

De La Rosa and Go’s bid was immediately opposed by Sen. Rissa Hontiveros and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III,  prompting a debate that led Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, a lawyer, to offer a compromise to remand instead the complaint to the House as proposed by Sen. Go, instead of dismissing the complaint outright.

After heated debate and several recess, the Tribunal agreed on Cayetano’s compromise resolution to preserve constitutional integrity without prematurely terminating the case,, triggering a vote in which 18 Senator-Judges said yes while five opposed.

Those who voted against the motion were Senator-Judges Pimentel III, Risa Hontiveros, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares and Sherwin Gatchalian. Sens. Binay and Poe will end their six-year term as senators on June 30, together with Sen. Cynthia Villar and Ramon Revilla. Jr. who voted with 16 others for the Cayetano compromise motion.

Those who voted yes were Escudero, Dela Rosa, Sen. Robin Padilla, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Sen. Maria Imelda Imee Marcos, Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sen. Mark Villar, Senate President Pro Tempore Jose Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. JV Ejercito, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Manuel Lito Lapid, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Rafael Raffy Tulfo, and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Pimentel and Hontiveros delivered a strong dissent, criticizing the language of the motion as vague and legally problematic.

“The wording of the approved motion introduces unnecessary ambiguity to the already politically charged proceedings,” Hontiveros said.

“Wala pong remand o return sa konstitusyon. Ang obligation natin (There is no remand or return in the constitution. Our obligation), try and decide,” she added.

She argued that if clarifications were needed, the Senate could have asked the House prosecution panel to file a formal compliance instead of sending the complaint back.

Senator Dela Rosa, who earlier called for the complaint’s dismissal due to alleged constitutional infirmities, expressed gratitude following the 18-5 vote.

“18-5 Returned!!! Thank you, Lord! I’m not trained nor equipped for this kind of task, but I am blessed with a clean heart and a fighting spirit that won’t stop. So blessed to be guided by the Holy Spirit,” he wrote on Facebook.

Senate President Escudero, acting as Presiding Officer of the Senate Impeachment Tribunal, clarified that the return of the complaint was not a dismissal, and the impeachment process remains active.

“In a few minutes, with the issuance of the summons, it will be made clear that there is no such intention to dismiss the case,” Escudero said.

“There is every intention by this impeachment court to comply with the rules, at least insofar as the issuance of the summons under our Rules and during the 19th Congress,” he added.

Escudero emphasized that the vote earlier in the day did not constitute a ruling on whether the House of Representatives violated the constitutional one-year ban on multiple impeachment attempts, nor did it preempt the action of the incoming 20th Congress.

“The intention is to give the prosecutors the opportunity to address legal concerns without wasting the court’s time or pre-judging the matter,” he said.

Under Article 7 of the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, the issuance of a summons follows the formal organization of the court and the presentation of the articles of impeachment.

The Vice President is required to file her answer within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of the summons and the complaint. Prosecutors, in turn, have five days to file their reply.

Escudero thanked the members of the Senate, particularly Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, for steering the court through what he called a “lively discourse” that enriched both the Senate’s records and the broader national debate.

“I am grateful we were able to conclude the first vote of the impeachment court. There will be many more in the coming weeks and months—whether during the 19th or the 20th Congress,” he added.

The Senate Tribunal’s decision did not outrightly dismiss the impeachment complaint and considered still active until such time that 1) The House of Representatives certify to the non violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year; include the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints”; and 2) The House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicates to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

VP Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, only one of whom, Renato Corona, a former Supreme Court chief justice, was convicted.

The trial of former President Joseph Estrada was aborted in 2001 after some prosecutors walked out, while an election commission chief and an ombudsman both resigned following their impeachments.

Both the vice president and a group of pro-Duterte lawyers have separately petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the impeachment complaint. (alfredgabot@aol.com)