Escudero: House has to abide by impeach court’s order on VP Sara’s case

The House of Representatives has no option but to accept the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, following the decision of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to return the case back to the lower chamber, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Wednesday. 

Escudero, who is the presiding officer of the impeachment court, explained that when it comes to impeachment proceedings, the House and the Senate are not equal. 

“Sa parte ng impeachment, korte ang Senado, prosecutor ang Kamara. Wala sa lugar para sa akin ang Kamara na hindi sumunod sa pinag-uutos ng impeachment court,” Escudero said in a press conference when asked for the possibility that the House would reject the articles of impeachment. 

(In terms of impeachment, the Senate acts as the court, while the House is the prosecutor. For me, the House has no say whether or not they would follow the order of the impeachment court.) 

“Hindi ito parang bicam na kailangan naming mag-agree. Ito’y kautusan galing sa impeachment court na nakatuon sa prosecutor na isa lamang partido sa kaso. Hindi magka-pantay ang partido at ang korte saan mang kaso saan mang parte ng mundo,” he added. 

(This is not like the bicam where we have to agree on something. This is an order from the impeachment court to the prosecutor who is only one party in the case. The party and the court are not equal in any case in any part of the world.) 

Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Roberto Ancan was seen in front of the Office the Secretary General at the House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), GMA Integrated News' Jonathan Andal said Ancan, who was carrying a folder with papers, declined to comment on the purpose of his visit. 

LOOK: Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Roberto Ancan is seen in front of the Office of the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. He declined to comment on the purpose of his visit. He was carrying a folder with a few papers. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/rMEBqUqjIJ

— Jonathan Andal (@JonathanAndal_) June 11, 2025

House prosecution team member San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria "Bel" Zamora earlier on Wednesday said that the Senate has no power to remand the impeachment complaint against Duterte to the House of Representatives.

According to Zamora, the job of the Senate as an impeachment court is to try and decide on the impeachment case and not to conduct a review.

“Siyempre kami, nanonood buong gabi ay nagulat, na-shock ulit sa ginawang aksyon ng ating senators. Kasi for us, remanding the articles of impeachment back to Congress is beyond the powers of the Senate. Wala po silang kapangyarihan na gawin ang pag-remand na 'yan,” she told Dobol B TV in an interview.

(Of course, we, who were watching all night, were surprised, shocked again by the action taken by our senators. For us, remanding the articles of impeachment back to Congress is beyond the powers of the Senate. They do not have the power to do that.)

The Senate Sergeant-At-Arms served on Wednesday morning the writ of summons for Duterte at her office in Mandaluyong City. The Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed receipt of the summons at 11:05 a.m.

‘Senate did its job’

Escudero also maintained that the Senate, as the impeachment court, did its job “properly” in accordance with the impeachment process, reiterating that nobody loses nor benefits from the decision. 

“‘Yung bulag, mas madaling makakita sa nagbubulag-bulagan. Nag-issue na kami ng summons, hinihintay namin, kung may duda pa at alinlangan, wala na siguro akong masasabi para pawiin ang duda at pagaalang-alang na ‘yun,” he said. 

(The blind can better see than those pretending to be blind. We have issued the summons, we are waiting, if there are still doubts, maybe there is nothing I can say to dispel their concerns.) 

“Sa lahat ng ingay, sa lahat ng panahon na ginugol kaugnay sa isyung ito, tumalima at ginawa naman namin kung ano ang sinabi naming gagawin namin. Naantala man ng ilang araw o ilang oras, sa dulo, wala namang epektong masama sa magkabilang panig ng impeachment process na ito,” he continued. 

(Amid all the noise and with all the time spent on this issue, I believe that we followed and did what we said we were going to do. Even if this gets delayed for a few days or a few hours, in the end, this has no negative effect on either side of this impeachment process.) 

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. 

Duterte was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. —AOL, GMA Integrated News