MANILA: Philippine senators on Wednesday (Aug 6) voted to shelve the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, after the top court ruled it as unconstitutional.
The motion to archive - approved by 19 of 24 senators - adheres with the Supreme Court ruling voiding the complaint against Duterte, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said during livestreamed proceedings. Four senators voted against the motion and one abstained.
The move renders the impeachment complaint against the vice president as "dead” unless the top court reverses its ruling, according to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
That means the Senate won’t proceed with the impeachment trial against the vice president which was set to begin this month, in yet another relief for the embattled politician.
"Restraint is not weakness. It is obedience to constitutional order,” said Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri who voted in favor of archiving.
The Supreme Court last month unanimously decided that the complaint against Duterte defied the constitutional rule that only one impeachment proceeding may be initiated against the same official within one year.
The House of Representatives, which impeached Duterte, on Monday asked the court to reverse its decision. It said impeachment is a political process entrusted to Congress, and that the proceedings followed the Constitution.
Sara, daughter of ex-leader Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached in February by the House on accusations that include plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and misusing public funds. She denies the charges.
The vice president has feuded with Marcos after their 2022 election team-up collapsed due to policy differences and public criticisms against each other’s families.
The Duterte clan showed its political clout during the midterm elections in May, where Marcos’ Senate slate underperformed.
"The 1987 Constitution entrusted the duty to try and decide all cases of impeachment to the Senate. Today we are voting to abandon this mandate,” said opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros who voted against archiving the complaint.
"It is our institution which, in the words of colleagues, killed the articles of impeachment.” - Bloomberg
