De Lima slams Senate's return of VP Sara's impeachment case to House

Representative-elect Leila de Lima of ML Party-list denounced the move of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court to return to the House of Representatives the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Harap-harapan na tayong niloloko. Sila ang nagtanong, sila rin ang sumagot. Walang due process. Walang hiya,” de Lima said in a statement.

(We are being duped right in front of us. They asked, but they are also the ones who answered. No due process. No shame.)

With 18 affirmative, five negative votes, and zero abstentions, the Senate voted to return to the lower chamber the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President without dismissing or terminating them. 

“Ano ito—korte o kulto? (What is this — a court or a cult?)” said the former senator and incoming party-list, who last month accepted invitations to join the prosecution panel of the House of Representatives in the impeachment trial of Duterte.

During a plenary session, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa made a motion seeking that the verified impeachment complaint against the Vice President be dismissed "in view of its constitutional infirmities and questions on the jurisdiction and authority of the 20th Congress."

Senate President Francis Escudero then ruled that the impeachment court should be convened first before acting on any motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint.

When the impeachment court was convened, senators debated on Dela Rosa's motion for hours. 

Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano then moved to amend Dela Rosa's motion that the Articles of Impeachment be returned to the House of Representatives instead, without dismissing or terminating the case. 

“There is no rule that allows this. No justice in shutting the door before the people can speak. No truth in a court that silences both sides,” de Lima said.

GMA News Online asked Escudero for comment but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

Escudero on Wednesday however said the House of Representatives has no option but to accept the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, following the decision of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to return the case back to the lower chamber.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday night certified that the impeachment of Duterte complied with the 1987 Constitution.

Escudero on Thursday however said the Senate has yet to receive any pleading from the House of Representatives regarding the impeachment of Duterte. 

The ML Party-list representative-elect further said that the impeachment complaint should have been filed in a “palengke” or a public market, saying “pareho lang din—walang nangyaring hustisya… at least doon, may nagtitinda ng totoo (It's the same. There is no justice... At least [in the market], there are vendors who truthfully sell).”

“This is how impunity thrives: pakonti-konti, paisa-isang hakbang, hanggang sa mabaon sa kalokohan ang katotohanan (slowly, one step at a time, until the truth is buried under falsehood),” she said.

The incoming lawmaker then praised the senators who voted against remanding the Articles of Impeachment to the House.

“To Senators Risa Hontiveros, Koko Pimentel, Nancy Binay, Win Gatchalian, and Grace Poe: thank you for standing your ground,” de Lima said.

“This is not just a setback. It is a stain—on the Senate, on the law, on the very idea that accountability is still possible in this country,” she said.

“You had one job: to let the truth be heard. Instead, you chose silence dressed as procedure. Delay disguised as order. Cowardice  in the costume of rules.

"Pero tandaan niyo ito: hindi kami tatahimik. At hindi lahat ng dinadaan sa teknikalidad ay nakakalimutan (But remember this: we will not be quiet. And not all that are processed via technicality will be forgotten),” she added.

De Lima further said the “fight for truth continues—outside your halls, beyond your rules, and with the people who still believe that justice must prevail.”

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.

The vice president earlier said the impeachment process is rooted in political retaliation, and referred to the impeachment trial as a "crucifixion." —KG, GMA Integrated News