House: No bad faith in impeachment of VP Sara

The House of Representatives acted within its authority and in accordance with the Constitution and existing laws in initiating the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte and archiving the first three impeachment complaints filed against her, two House officials said.

House spokesperson Princess Abante as well as House prosecution panel spokesperson Audie Bucoy made the position in response to lawyer Ernesto Francisco, Jr.'s statement that the House, in taking its time to act on the first three impeachment complaints against the Vice President, acted in bad faith.

“Our position is that all of the actions of the House of Representatives in filing the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte are all in accordance with the Constitution, the internal rules of the House and prevailing jurisprudence. Walang bad faith kapag sinunod mo yung alituntunin eh,” Abante said in a press conference.

(There is no bad faith if you follow the rules.)

“In the [Vice President] Duterte’s case and as stated in the Supreme Court decision [that we are appealing], the High Court said that the House followed the timeline required by the Constitution,” Abante added.

Impeachment not a rat race 

Bucoy then stressed that the House, in accordance to its rules and the Constitution, all took action on the first three impeachment complaints alongside the consolidate fourth impeachment complaint by referring it to the Order of Business within 10 session days on February 5, 2025, because the first impeachment complaint filed is not necessarily the most meritorious one.

In addition, Bucoy noted that since the consolidated fourth impeachment complaint was already signed off by at least 215 members of the House which is way more than one-third of the House members required by the Constitution for it to serve as Articles of Impeachment and subsequently transmitted to the Senate, the archiving of the first three impeachment complaints after reaching the one-third threshold should not be considered an initiated impeachment complaint.

“Walang paglabag ang Kamara because they have 10 session days to calendar the complaint to the Order of Business. Ang impeachment process, hindi ho yan first to file. The House has the discretion to determine which complaint has the substance. Because if we prioritize the first to be filed, it is just a rat race. Kahit na napaka-whimsical, kahit na sham yung complaint, [ifa-file iyong complaint] if only to defeat a legitimate impeachment complaint,” Bucoy said.

(This is not a matter of who gets to file the first impeachment complaint. If so, even though the complaint is whimsical, sham, the House has to act upon it if only to defeat a legitimate impeachment complaint.) 

“Ayon sa desisyon ng [Korte Suprema sa] Francisco [v. House] na inulit ng Supreme Court sa Gutierrez [v. House Committee on Justice] case, hindi ‘yan unahan. The House has the discretion. Pwede ang sabay-sabay, lilingapin lahat, sabay-sabay i-rerefer [na impeachment complaints]. The fourth impeachment complaint had way beyond the threshold [of one third]. Under the Constitution, this [complaint endorsed by at least one-third] will Constitute the Articles of Impeachment. This [fourth complaint] superseded the first three impeachment complaints. Wala hong abuso ng proseso,” Bucoy added.

(Based on the Supreme Court decisions in Francisco v. House and Gutierrez v. House Committee on Justice. The House has the authority to consolidate the complaints. There is no abuse of the process.)

In the same press conference, Bucoy then called on the Senate to proceed with the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte pending the resolution on the House’s appeal on the Supreme Court decision junking the impeachment case against the Vice President, given that the Senate dragged its foot in starting the impeachment trial of the Vice President to begin with.

Bucoy was referring to Article 11, Section 3.4 of the Constitution which states that "in case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed." 

The consolidated impeachment filed against the Vice President had more than one-third of House members as signatories, way beyond the threshold set by the Constitution that allows the House to directly transmit the Articles of Impeachment so the trial can proceed “forthwith.”

“Dapat hintayin nila (Senado) kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng mataas na Hukuman sa motion for reconsideration. Otherwise, it will only show na talagang nagmamadali sila, na tapusin. E samantalang dati, ‘yung forthwith [na sinasabi ng Constitution], hindi sila nagmamadali,” Bucoy said.

 (The Senate should wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on our motion for reconsideration. Otherwise, it will only show that they are in a rush to end it when they dragged their feet on starting the trial forthwith [as stated in the Constitution].)

“Bakit ngayon, iba yung kanilang gusto mangyari? Gusto nila, tapusin na. I-dismiss na?” Bucoy added.

(Why the sudden change of tune now? Why do they want to end it, dismiss it quickly now?) — BM, GMA Integrated News