Tongol: Certifications asked from House not ‘traps’ in impeachment process

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol on Wednesday denied that the certifications being required from the House of Representatives are “traps or measures to impede” the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

This, as House prosecutor and Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno said Tuesday that the Senate impeachment court’s order for the House under the 20th Congress to submit a certification of its willingness to pursue Duterte’s impeachment may impair the prosecution’s case. 

Tongol maintained that such certifications are “all part of the effort to guarantee procedural legitimacy and to uphold constitutional standards.”

“This certification procedure should not be seen as traps or measures to impede, but these certification processes help prevent any legal impediment or challenges or technicalities that could undermine the impeachment process once it starts rolling and to uphold the proceeding’s integrity,” Tongol said at a press conference.

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol says that specific certifications being required from the House of Representatives “should not be seen as traps or measures to impede” the impeachment process. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/sUUtFLUMWy

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) July 2, 2025

“So, the disrespect for or attempts to undermine the impeachment court processes threaten the independence and credibility of the court and jeopardizes public trust in the process itself,” he added. 

The House already submitted the first required certification that the complaint complied with the one-year ban on subsequent impeachment complaints and that it followed the Constitution.

The House under the 20th Congress has yet to submit the second certification concerning its willingness to prosecute.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. The Vice President was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

The Senate impeachment court convened on June 10, with the trial proper expected to begin in the 20th Congress.

But for Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, it is not the Senate impeachment court’s duty to raise legal questions ahead of the impeachment trial proper.

“These [certifications] are matters that would have been already discussed by the defense panel in the course of the trial. It shouldn't be the Senate pointing them out, it should have been the defense lawyers pointing them out. Because if you look at the defense, what the defense submitted to the Supreme Court for clarification, they're basically the same things that were being pushed for, or the controversies that we're given consideration with the Senate,” Acidre said in a press conference.

“The impeachment trial should have proceeded first so that both sides would have been heard before you can actually resolve these issues,” he said.

Asked if the requirement of certifications favored the side of the defense, the lawmaker replied in the affirmative.

However, Acidre clarified he believes the Senate remains a credible judge of the impeachment case brought by the House against the Vice President.

“I stand by the integrity of our institution as an elected official, and I have full faith in the process. I have full faith that the Senate will exercise its mandate with independence and integrity,” he said.

“The requirement of certifications did not do any damage on the prosecution which is yet to present its evidence. What it has damaged is the opportunity for the people to hear the case and for themselves to determine the facts of the matter,” he added. —AOL, GMA Integrated News