Incoming Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list Rep. Leila de Lima slammed on Wednesday senators’ decision to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, calling it a ‘shameful’ political ruse.
“We are being deceived outright. They (senators) were the ones who asked the question and they themselves answered it. There was no due process. Shameless. What is this—a court or a cult?” De Lima said, reacting to the developments in the Senate on Tuesday evening.
De Lima, a seasoned human rights lawyer and former senator, argued there was no rule that allowed what transpired in the upper chamber last night. “No justice in shutting the door before the people can speak. No truth in a court that silences both sides,” she said.
The representative-elect lamented how the Senate essentially allowed ‘impunity to thrive’ with its actions. “This is not just a setback. It is a stain—on the Senate, on the law, on the very idea that accountability is still possible in this country,” De Lima said.
“You had one job: to let the truth be heard. Instead, you chose silence dressed as procedure. Delay disguised as order. Cowardice in the costume of rules,” she told senators in the 19th Congress, who voted to remand the articles of impeachment.
De Lima thanked the five senators who decided against it—Senators Risa Hontiveros, Koko Pimentel, Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Grace Poe—for standing their ground and siding with the rule of law.
Despite what happened, De Lima said those who are seeking accountability “won’t be silenced.” She pointed out that “not everything that is dismissed on a technicality is forgotten.”
“This is not the end. The fight for truth continues—outside your halls, beyond your rules, and with the people who still believe that justice must prevail,” De Lima ended her statement.
Vice President Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5 over serious allegations related to her mismanaged confidential funds and threats made on the life of public officials, among other charges.
