MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives required additional time to deliberate on the impeachment charges against Vice President Sara Duterte. This delay was due to their intention to present a thoroughly vetted petition to the Senate for further proceedings.
House Spokesperson Princess Abante provided this explanation during a press conference at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City on Tuesday.
Abante was questioned regarding Senate President Francis Escudero’s comments that individuals also had to wait for an extended period before the House addressed the three impeachment complaints submitted in December 2019.
She concurred with the view that the House acts akin to a prosecutor within the Philippine legal framework, receiving complaints from individual accusers.
Given this, the spokesperson emphasized that the House must construct robust arguments capable of enduring legal scrutiny.
"Yes, the impeachment process starts in the House of Representatives," she stated.
“The House cannot just submit an impeachment complaint that is not in order, not strong and not based on the right grounds to impeach an impeachable official,” she explained.
"This is part of our constitutional procedure. This isn’t an easy task," she stated.
"The House must proceed correctly and follow the procedures outlined in the Constitution. The House of Representatives fulfilled its duty, and now it’s up to the Senate to carry out the trial as stated in the Constitution," she said additionally.
The initial impeachment complaint against Duterte was submitted by various civic groups on December 2nd to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco’s office.
The petitioners had the support of ex-Senator Leila de Lima, who took on the role of spokesperson, whereas the complaint received backing from Akbayan party-list Representative Percival Cendaña.
As stated by de Lima, the accusations included claims that Duterte was accountable for the misappropriation of confidential funds and had threatened high-ranking government officials, according to the charges filed.
Two days afterward, various activist organizations headed by BAYAN submitted another impeachment charge, citing betrayal of public trust as one of the articles of impeachment.
The Makabayan bloc legislators supported the second accusation.
A few days later, representatives from various faith communities submitted another grievance. This new complaint gained support from Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado and Aambis-Owa Rep. Lex Colada.
The complaints were submitted while the session was still in progress.
However, the papers were not sent over from Velasco’s office to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez — a point that Escudero highlighted during his address on Monday evening in the Senate session hall.
“The House rules state that any impeachment complaint submitted by a member should be promptly—though not necessarily at once—transmitted by the Secretary General to the Speaker,” emphasized the Senate leader.
“He mentioned that according to the House rules, the Speaker must forward the grievances to the Committee on Justice within ten days.”
The senate president noted that these actions were not taken by the House.
"To tell you the truth, even up until Congress ended its session on February 5th, these complaints had not been resolved by the secretary general, despite his office being right next to the speaker’s office," Escudero remembered.
On December 5, 2024, when reporters asked Velasco about the reason behind the delay in sending the impeachment complaints to Romualdez' office, the secretary general stated that they are still awaiting additional complaints from other groups interested in filing them.
READ: Impeachment complaints against VP Duterte have not been forwarded to Romualdez – House
On January 2, Velasco indicated that there might be a fourth impeachment complaint lodged against Duterte when sessions reconvene, as several legislators have shown interest in supporting the original three charges.
READ: Head honcho receives update about fourth impeachment charge against VP Duterte
Since no fourth impeachment complaint was submitted prior to the scheduled adjournment of the session, Velasco stated that the initial three petitions would be sent to Romualdez’s office.
On the final session day, however, 215 legislators submitted and validated a fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte.
The fourth grievance was promptly forwarded to the Senate.
According to the 1987 Constitution under Article XI, Section 3 (4), a validated complaint submitted by at least one-third of the House—which equates to 102 out of 306 legislators—shall "serve as the Articles of Impeachment, after which the trial will immediately continue in the Senate."
READ: The House indicts Sara Duterte, swiftly moving the case to the Senate.
In total, it took the House approximately two months to address the complaints — a timeframe Abante thinks was sufficient provided that the main priority was guaranteeing the impeachment proceedings followed the correct procedures.
"Two months works for me if we aim to make sure everything is properly organized. However, as always, time can be subjective," she pointed out. /apl