Chiz: No reason for Senate not to follow SC ruling on VP Sara impeachment

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday expressed his personal opinion on the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying that he does not see any reason why the upper chamber should not follow it.

Escudero, however, stressed that the Senate will decide on the matter as a collective body.

“Personally, ang posisyon ko bilang abogado ay ito: Nag-desisyon ang Korte Suprema, sangayon ka man do’n o hindi, dapat ito’y sundin. Kung hindi, magkakaroon tayo ng constitutional crisis at baka tignan tayo ng mga karatig bansa natin at ibang tao na isang banana republic kung saan sinusunod lang natin ang gusto natin,” he told a press conference. 

(Personally, my position as a lawyer is this: The Supreme Court has made a decision, and whether you agree with it or not, it must be followed. Otherwise, we will have a constitutional crisis, and our neighboring countries and other people might view us as a banana republic where we only follow what we want.) 

“Ito ay pagpapasyahan namin pero wala akong nakikitang rason at dahilan personally para hindi namin sundan at sundin ito. Maliwanag ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema—the impeachment complaint is null and void ab initio, meaning from the beginning,” he added.

(This is for us to decide, but I see no reason personally for us not to follow it. The decision of the Supreme Court is clear—the impeachment complaint is null and void ab initio, meaning from the beginning.) 

Voting 13-0, the SC on July 25 declared the articles of impeachment against Duterte unconstitutional, saying that they were barred by the one-year rule under Article XI Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution. The high court also found that the articles violated Duterte’s right to due process.

The high court also emphasized that it was not absolving Duterte from any of the charges against her, but any subsequent impeachment complaint may only be filed starting February 6, 2026. 

The SC decision is immediately executory, but a motion for reconsideration may be filed.

The House of Representatives said on Sunday that it would appeal the decision.

Escudero said that the impeachment case may be discussed at the senators' caucus scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. 

“Wala sa agenda subalit tiyak akong mapag-uusapan ‘yun dahil imposible namang hindi. That is considered what we may call the elephant in the room, so malamang mapag-uusapan ‘yun mamaya,” he said.

(It's not on the agenda, but I'm sure we will talk about it because it's impossible not to. That is considered what we may call the elephant in the room, so we will probably talk about it later.) 

According to him, the Senate should decide the issue without convening the impeachment court because the SC has ruled that it lacks the authority to hear the articles of impeachment.

“Sa tingin ko mas safe na Senado ang magpapasya kaugnay nito imbis na impeachment court dahil baka matignan pa na paglabag ang pag-convene ng impeachment court matapos ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema,” he added. 

(I think it's safer for the Senate to decide on this instead of the impeachment court because convening the impeachment court after the Supreme Court's decision might even be seen as a violation.) 

Escudero was reelected Senate president at the opening session of the 20th Congress on Monday. —VBL, GMA Integrated News