MANILA, Philippines — The public will discern who respects legal procedures and who tries to manipulate them to derail the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a Palace official said Wednesday.

This was Palace Press Officer Claire Castro’s response when asked for Marcos thoughts regarding talks about the potential dismissal of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.

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READ: Robin Padilla drafts own reso junking Duterte impeachment case

“First of all, the President is not part of the debate in the Senate. The public will see who is truly following the procedure and who is manipulating it to either evade or push through with the impeachment trial,” she said.

“For now, I’ll repeat: the President is not focused on the impeachment. However, according to the President — and this is a general statement — there really is a need for transparency and accountability among all public servants, not just in relation to the impeachment trial,” she also said.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment: What you need to know

The Palace also sees no negative impact on Marcos if the impeachment process is dismissed, as he is not involved in the Senate’s debates or deliberations.

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“So, even if this is dismissed, as we’ve said, it will be the people who will judge the Senate based on what they did during the impeachment trial,” Castro added.

READ: LIVE UPDATES: Senate sends back impeachment articles to House for review

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On Tuesday, the Senate voted 18-5 to return the impeachment articles against Duterte to the House of Representatives. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who filed the motion, clarified that this does not mean the case is dismissed or closed.

The impeachment complaint accuses the second-highest leader of the country of “high crimes,” including corruption and an alleged plot to assassinate Marcos.

The case mainly centers on her use of P125 million in confidential funds just 11 days after taking office in 2022, which lawmakers say violated budget rules and accountability standards. /das

The Philippine Senate has returned the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives to ensure that constitutional requirements were not violated.

The decision was reached hours after the 23-member upper house convened on Tuesday as an impeachment court.

A majority backed the motion to remand the articles of impeachment to the lower house.

But some lawmakers condemned the move.

Philipine Senate President Francis Escudero said it was “in no way a dismissal, because we will be issuing a summons after this.”

The lower house impeached Duterte in February for threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and allegedly misusing public funds. The vice president, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, denies the allegations.

The current term of Congress closes at the end of this month. The session starting July will include lawmakers elected in the mid-term election held in May.

The Senate impeachment court is expected to continue. Twelve new senators will join the 12 incumbents as senator-judges.

If the vice president is convicted, she will lose the right to run in the presidential election in 2028.

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

PROSECUTORS. The House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference on June 11, 2025.

While some prosecutors believe the Senate is deliberately delaying the trial, they don’t have a collective stand critical of the impeachment court. ‘We have to choose between being combative or cooperative,’ Libanan says.

MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution team in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte said on Wednesday, June 11, it would raise a motion seeking clarity on the impeachment court’s directive to remand the impeachment articles from the Senate to the House of Representatives.

“The prosecution panel is somewhat confused by the order of the impeachment court last night,” Batangas 2nd District Representative Jinky Luistro said in Filipino.

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The impeachment court wants two things: first, for the House to certify that it did not violate a constitutional rule when it proceeded with the impeachment of the Vice President; second, for the House of the 20th Congress to express willingness that it is still willing to push through with the trial.

Luistro insisted that the House did not circumvent the one-year bar rule. Duterte and her Senate allies had claimed that House deliberately froze the initiation of the impeachment process when it sat on original but supposedly weak impeachment complaints because if junked, Sara Duterte would get a constitutional one-year immunity from impeachment.

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Luistro also said the second condition by the impeachment court is impossible to comply with now, because the Philippines is still under the 19th Congress.

She believes though that the order is implied admission by the Senate that the trial can carry over from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress — an issue that has been the subject of debates for months.

‘Cooperative’ than ‘combative’

In the Senate, the minority bloc is worried that the remanding of the case is tantamount to functional dismissal of the case.

In the House, Bukidnon 2nd District Representative Keith Flores and Antipolo 2nd District Representative Romeo Acop answered in the affirmative when asked if the Senate is deliberately stalling the process.

But other members of the panel have a more optimistic view of what transpired in the Senate.

Luistro, who opened Wednesday’s press conference, welcomed the decision of the impeachment court to issue writ of summons to the Vice President.

“No one can stop [this trial] anymore because jurisdiction has been acquired already by the impeachment court over the person of the respondent,” she said.

Why does she and other members of the prosecution believe that the trial is still alive despite the different interpretation of the Senate minority bloc?

“We wish to be clarified first before we make a stand on whether that order to return or remand is tantamount to the dismissal of the impeachment complaint. Unless we are clarified on that order, I believe that to speak on that issue will be premature,” she said.

“We have a small victory, the impeachment complaint will continue, and maybe we just need to clarify a few things,” Libanan added.

Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua also adopted the view that the remanding of the case is unconstitutional, but the rest of the panel held back on whether to echo such a sentiment.

“We are now at a point where we have to choose between being combative or cooperative, right? We need to decide whether to cooperate or be combative with the court. In court, if you’re too aggressive, there’s a good chance you’ll lose,” Libanan added.

Other points of clarification

Luistro also said the prosecution team would clarify why the impeachment court canceled the scheduled reading of impeachment articles by the House.

The panel added that it would defer not receiving the impeachment articles sent back by the Senate until they were able to seek clarification.

Earlier on Tuesday, Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Roberto Ancan was seen outside the office of Secretary General Reginald Velasco, but he declined to comment on the purpose of his House visit.

Can the House reject the Senate’s remanding of impeachment articles? Libanan said they would comply if it would not compromise their strategy.

The panel also rejected the scenario wherein the House would withdraw the impeachment articles against the Vice President. – Rappler.com

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), comprising the country’s leading business executives, is “deeply concerned” over the Senate’s decision to return the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, warning of its potential economic impact.

The influential business group stated that the Senate has the constitutional duty to conduct the impeachment trial of Duterte “without any delay or disruption.”

“Abandoning this mandate undermines the integrity of our democratic processes,” MAP said in a statement, signed by its president Al Panlilio and national issues committee chair Rene Almendras.

MAP said that this issue is no longer restricted to mere politics, as it is “fundamentally about good governance and the rule of law.”

On Tuesday evening, June 11, the Senate officially convened for an impeachment trial, marking the start of proceedings after months of delay.

However, 18 senators voted to swiftly remand the articles of impeachment against the country’s second-highest official to the lower chamber, citing the need to address supposed constitutional infirmities. Only five senators voted against this move.

While Senate leadership has insisted that this is not equivalent to a dismissal of the case, pro-impeachment lawmakers cast doubt over the matter.

MAP is now urging senators to “rise to the occasion” and reaffirm their role as a pillar of good governance and the rule of law by continuing the impeachment trial.

“By allowing the trial to proceed, the Senate would affirm its commitment to transparency, accountability, and other principles of good governance,” it said.

The group added that the trial would give the prosecution a fair chance to present its case, and the defense a full opportunity to respond and clear the vice president’s name.

MAP said that upholding the rule of law is critical to ensure a stable and predictable environment for economic growth.

“It builds investor confidence, attracts job-generating investments, and ultimately benefits all Filipinos,” the group added.

FILE PHOTO: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte delivers a statement following her impeachment by the lower house of the Congress, in her office at Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo

MANILA – Philippine prosecutors said on Wednesday there was no stopping the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, expressing bemusement at why the Senate convened a court before swiftly returning the case to the lower house.

The impeachment of Duterte, a likely contender for the 2028 presidency, has dominated headlines in the Philippines this year after a high-profile grudge match between her and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr that spiralled into a bitter battle for power and influence.

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in February to impeach Duterte for betrayal of public trust and high crimes, referring the case to the Senate to convene a trial. Duterte insists the impeachment is politically motivated and denies wrongdoing.

But the Senate on Tuesday sent the case back to the lower house, requiring it to certify that it was lawful, a move some critics said was a tactic to try to thwart the impeachment.

The decision prompted wider outrage, including from legal and church groups, who said it was a betrayal of the constitution and a shirking of the Senate’s responsibility to hold public officials accountable.

Congresswoman Gerville Luistro, a member of the impeachment prosecution panel, said the lower house had fulfilled its duty and the Senate’s issuance of a summons to Duterte to answer charges meant it already had jurisdiction over the case.

“No one can stop this anymore,” Luistro told a press conference, adding the prosecution’s case was strong and backed by ample evidence. “We are certain that the complaint is strictly and fully compliant with the requirements of the constitution.”

POLITICAL MANOEUVRE

The popular daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte has been accused of budget irregularities, amassing unexplained wealth, and threatening the lives of Marcos, the first lady and and the house speaker. She faces a lifetime political ban if convicted.

Senator Imee Marcos, the president’s sister and now an ally of the Duterte, said there was justification in the Senate’s decision and called the impeachment bid a political manoeuvre to keep Duterte out of the 2028 presidential race.

Marcos has distanced himself from the impeachment and his office on Wednesday said the president was busy and not following the trial. Duterte’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Marcos, who is limited to a single term, is expected to groom a successor who can preserve his influence and legacy and defeat Duterte if she is acquitted and runs for the presidency.

Outside the upper house on Wednesday, hundreds of protesters braved the rain, carrying banners demanding accountability from Duterte and calling the senators “cowards” and “traitors”.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, a prominent church group, said the decision was a betrayal of the public trust.

“Allow the constitutional process to proceed without obstruction. If there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear,” its president said. REUTERS

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