FILE PHOTO: Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte attends a legislative inquiry into her office's use of public funds, at the House of Representatives, in Quezon City, Philippines, November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo
MANILA (Reuters) -Philippine senators on Tuesday voted to return an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte to the lower house to clarify its constitutionality, in a surprise move just hours after convening a trial that could end her political career.
After heated debates among members that included efforts by a Duterte ally to dismiss the case, the senators agreed not to terminate the trial, but first send it back to the lower house to certify that its handling of the process had been lawful.
The impeachment of the daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte follows an acrimonious falling out last year with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with whom she ran on a joint ticket that won the 2022 election in a landslide.
The Senate's late-night move could provide a lifebuoy for presidential contender Duterte in her make-or-break trial and impact the policy agenda and succession plans of former ally Marcos.
Marcos is limited to a single term in office and has created a powerful enemy in Duterte. He is expected to try to retain influence and protect his legacy by grooming a successor capable of fending off his rival in the next election should she be acquitted.
"I think we have upheld our oath to be politically neutral," said Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, a Duterte loyalist who presented the motion to return the case to the House of Representatives.
The lower house in February voted to impeach the vice president for high crimes and betrayal of the public trust, alleging budget irregularities, amassing of unusual wealth and athreat to the lives of Marcos, his wife, and the house speaker. She has denied all allegations.
FIERCE DEBATE
The unprecedented move by the Senate could add fuel to fierce public debate on what is already an emotionally charged issue in the Philippines, with the spectre of discord in the bicameral legislature and more legal action to try to dismiss the case against the popular Duterte.
The trial will officially proceed, according to senators, who issued a summons to Duterte to respond to the charges, despite sending the case back to the lower house until a time when a Congress newly-formed after last month's midterm elections is "willing and ready" to pursue the impeachment complaint.
Duterte will have 10 days to comply. A new Congress will convene at the end of July.
Duterte's office late on Tuesday reiterated an earlier statement that said she was ready to "expose the baselessness of the accusations".
"The impeachment process must never be weaponised to harass, silence, or eliminate political opponents," it said.
The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Senate's move. Marcos has distanced himself from the impeachment, even though it was launched by his legislative allies.
Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, only one of whom, Renato Corona, a former Supreme Court chief justice, was convicted.
The trial of former President Joseph Estrada was aborted in 2001 after some prosecutors walked out, while an election commission chief and an ombudsman both resigned following their impeachments.
Both the vice president and a group of pro-Duterte lawyers have separately petitioned the Supreme Court tonullifythe impeachment complaint.
Makabayan, a minority bloc of left-wing lawmakers, said the senators had abdicated their constitutional duty in a "legally baseless" decision.
"This brazen move represents a dangerous departure from constitutional procedure and sets a perilous precedent that undermines impeachment as a means for exacting accountability from the highest officials," it said.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
