House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday said the lower chamber has already fulfilled its constitutional mandate in the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte, and it is now up to the Senate to determine the next steps.
He explained that the House acted per its duty as the prosecutorial body, standing ready to present its case once the Senate convenes as an impeachment court.
“The letter of Senate President Chiz Escudero to me is pretty straightforward; the impeachment complaint is already with the Senate, so we leave it to their sound discretion as to how they want to see it,” Romualdez told reporters in a mixture of Filipino and English.
“The Senate president outlined priority measures, legislative measures that they would like to prioritize first, so we have to respect the decision of the Senate president,” he added. “As I said, the impeachment complaint has been transmitted to the Senate, so it’s best we leave it to the sound discretion of the Senate how they plan on discussing it.”
To recall, Escudero sent the Speaker a letter last Thursday, informing the House prosecution panel that the reading of the articles would be rescheduled.
Romualdez acknowledged that the Senate has laid out its legislative agenda, including final action on the priority bills identified under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
“The Senate President outlined the priority measures, like the LEDAC measures, that they would like to prioritize first. So, we have to respect the decision of the Senate President and the Senate,” he noted.
“Well, as I said, the impeachment complaint has been transmitted to the Senate. So, it’s best we leave it to the sound discretion of the Senate on how they plan on disposing of it,” the Speaker added.
Asked about possible developments in the weeks ahead, Romualdez said it is too early to speculate but expressed optimism about a constructive and positive outcome.
“Well, everything is speculative at this point. But we hope things resolve themselves positively for all,” he concluded.
However, some lawmakers from both chambers of Congress are not taking the delays in the impeachment process so coolly.
Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed alarm over repeated delays in Duterte’s impeachment trial, calling on her colleagues in the Senate to fulfill their constitutional duty without further postponement.
“While I support my colleagues in our shared sense of urgency in passing important legislation in the last days of the 19th Congress, including the landmark Anti-POGO bill, we cannot postpone our constitutional obligations any longer,” she said.
Hontiveros said the delays have dragged on for months, and the public has waited far too long for proceedings to begin.
She reminded her colleagues that the Constitution requires the Senate to “forthwith proceed” with an impeachment trial once it receives the Articles of Impeachment from the House of Representatives.
“This does not mean ‘when ready’ or ‘when convenient,” Hontiveros said.
“We owe it to the Filipino people to convene as an impeachment court and begin the proceedings at the soonest possible time,” she added.
Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro and ACT Teachers Partylist Representative-elect Antonio Tinio even chastised Senator Imee Marcos for prematurely declaring the impeachment bid against Duterte as being “dead” amid the delays.
The militant solons emphasized the importance of accountability and justice amid allegations of misuse of public funds.
“This is the problem with people like Senator Marcos and VP Duterte who are not used to being held accountable for their wrongdoings against the nation. They think it is acceptable to steal billions as long as they spread fake news and disinformation to deceive the people,” Castro said in Filipino
The impeachment process must be initiated properly, and VP Duterte must be held accountable. If not, she will just do it again, and even greater amounts will be lost. Other politicians will also follow her lead,” she added.
Tinio echoed Castro’s sentiments, stating that dismissive attitudes toward accountability set a dangerous precedent for government officials.
“What of justice and accountability for the people if this is the kind of leadership we have? Huge amounts of money remain unaccounted for, with no explanation of how it was spent or what it was used for, yet they think this is acceptable,” he said.
