Senate to decide on SC ruling on VP Sara impeachment on Aug. 6 — Chiz

The Senate is set to discuss the decision of the Supreme Court declaring the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional on August 6, 2025, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Tuesday. 

During the plenary session, Escudero said the date was set next week in order to give the senators “ample and sufficient time” to study the SC ruling. This was agreed upon by the senators present in the caucus or meeting held early Tuesday afternoon. 

“[We] place on record the agreement arrived upon in caucus earlier to set on a date certain the disposition of the matter pertaining to the Supreme Court decision in relation to the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte,” Escudero said. 

"For the record, it was agreed in caucus that the matter will be decided upon by the Senate on August 6, 2025, when we open session on that date in order to afford ample and sufficient time to the members to study the 97-page Supreme Court decision, excluding the concurring and separate opinions filed by five or six additional magistrates of the Supreme Court,” he added.

Voting 13-0, the Supreme Court earlier declared the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte as unconstitutional, saying that it was 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 SC decision is immediately executory but a motion for reconsideration may be filed.

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

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol earlier said that the court is set to vote whether to proceed with the deliberations after receiving the high court’s ruling on the articles of impeachment filed against Duterte. 

The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is preparing to file a motion for reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision to void the impeachment of Duterte, arguing that the ruling was based on what it described as incorrect findings that contradict official records. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News