Escudero sees no need to convene impeachment court after SC ruling

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero believes there is no longer a need for the Senate impeachment court to convene after the Supreme Court declared the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional.

In its decision on Friday, the high tribunal ruled that “the House impeachment complaint versus Vice President is barred by the one-year rule and that due process or fairness applies during all stages of the impeachment.”

“Personally, my position as a lawyer is this: The Supreme Court has made its decision. Whether you agree with it or not, it must be followed—otherwise, we risk a constitutional crisis, and our neighboring countries and others might see us as a 'banana republic' where we only follow what we want,” Escudero said in a mix of Filipino and English in a press briefing on Tuesday.

He stressed that this is just his personal opinion, as the decision of the majority of the Senate will always prevail.

READ: Senators split over VP trial after SC ruling

Escudero also believes that this issue should be decided by the Senate and not by the impeachment court.

Last June 10, the Senate convened as an impeachment court to tackle the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, which were transmitted by the House of Representatives last February 5.

As Senate president, Escudero is the presiding officer of the impeachment court.

“In my view, it would be safer for the Senate to make the decision on this matter instead of the Impeachment Court, as convening the Impeachment Court after the Supreme Court’s ruling might be seen as a violation,” the Senate chief said mostly in Filipino.

Asked then if there is no need for the impeachment court to convene after the SC’s ruling, Escudero answered in the affirmative.

“And if the Senate will act on it, the Senate should act on it as a Senate in plenary,” he pointed out.

In the impeachment trial of then-President Joseph Estrada, Escudero said it was also the Senate — not the impeachment court — that dismissed the case against him.

The dismissal of the case followed a people power revolt called Edsa 2 in 2011, which was triggered by the impeachment court’s vote not to open the second envelope that supposedly contained evidence against Estrada.

Escudero explained that in the case of Duterte, the Senate only acquired jurisdiction after the Articles of Impeachment against her were read on the Senate floor and referred to its committee on rules.

But according to the high tribunal’s decision, the Senate could not acquire jurisdiction over the Duterte case as the fourth impeachment case against her was unconstitutional.

The first three impeachment complaints were filed in the House in December 2024 but they were deemed terminated and archived last February 5 — the same day the fourth complaint was passed by the chamber and later transmitted to the Senate.

Escudero expects this SC ruling would crop up when senators meet in a caucus this Tuesday to discuss their priority measures.

“It’s not on the agenda, but I’m sure it will be tackled because it is impossible not to discuss it. That’s considered what we may call the elephant in the room, so it will most likely come up later,” he said, partly in Filipino. /jpv

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated

(2025/07/29-12:33)

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