Representative-elect Leila de Lima of ML Party-list denounced the move of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to remand to the House of Representatives the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“We are being duped right in front of us. They asked the questions, and they also answered them. No due process. No shame,” De Lima said in a statement.
Voting 18–5, the Senate impeachment court moved to return the Articles of Impeachment to the lower chamber without dismissing or terminating them.
“What is this—a court or a cult?” said De Lima, a former senator and incoming party-list representative, who accepted the invitation to join the House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Duterte.
The House refused to accept the Senate’s order, as members of the prosecution panel intend to seek clarification from the Senate on certain matters, while maintaining that the case transmitted by the lower chamber is constitutionally compliant.
According to De Lima, the move of the Senate under the leadership of Senate President Francis Escudero “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.”
“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 added.
“But remember this: we will not be quiet. And not everything processed through technicality will be forgotten,” she said.
De Lima further said, “The fight for truth continues—outside your halls, beyond your rules, and with the people who still believe that justice must prevail.”
A constitutional law professor said senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should remain impartial.
Lawyer Jennifer Arlene Reyes said members of the impeachment court must remember that they are serving the interests of the Filipino people, not of an ally or a party-mate.
“Since the Constitution expressly provides that they, as the sole judges of the impeachment case, must try and decide this proceeding, then we can only hope that their conscience and political will prevail—not their biases or alliances,” she said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
“To put it bluntly, they should be ashamed before the people. Their loyalty should be to the Constitution, because the Constitution represents the Filipino people,” Reyes added.
“They should always be reminded that they are the senators of the Filipino people—not of a particular official or individual,” she stressed.
Reyes said senator-judges must show the electorate that they truly represent them.
“They are the representatives of the people. They must always prove to the Filipino people that they deserve the votes of the populace. If you are a senator-judge but you manifestly show partiality or bias, that’s a betrayal of the public trust,” she said.
She challenged senators to exercise propriety and ethics by recusing themselves from the trial if they cannot remain neutral.
“Propriety is free. I appeal to them: if they still have any sense of it and respect for the Filipino people, they should stop being partial—or at least have the decency to inhibit themselves from the proceedings,” Reyes said.
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18–5 on Tuesday night to return the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives, rejecting calls for outright dismissal while leaving the case technically alive for further action.
The motion, introduced by Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, was presented as a compromise to preserve constitutional integrity without prematurely terminating the case.
Despite returning the articles, the court issued a formal writ of summons to Vice President Duterte, ordering her to respond to the charges outlined in Article I of the complaint.
The summons, served by the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and received by the Office of the Vice President on June 11, mandates Duterte to respond within three days of receipt.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte stemmed from her alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds while concurrently serving as Vice President and Secretary of Education. The complaint claims these funds were expended without adequate transparency or legal basis.
House lawmakers, including those aligned with the ruling coalition, were divided on whether to proceed with the complaint. The eventual passage of the Articles of Impeachment was described as historic, as it marked the first such move against a sitting Vice President in recent memory.
Several senators, including those who voted in favor of the remand, argued that procedural inconsistencies in the House’s transmittal required clarification before the trial could proceed. However, critics see this as a stalling tactic to protect political allies.
Meanwhile, public sentiment continues to grow around the case, with various civil society groups staging rallies in support of impeachment. Advocacy organizations have called for transparency and accountability, warning that any further delay could erode public trust in both Congress and the justice system.
