VP Sara, some petitioners celebrate Kadayawan after impeach raps archived

Vice President Sara Duterte and some petitioners against the articles of impeachment filed against her had a thanksgiving celebration for the Kadayawan Festival, a day after the Senate voted to archive the impeachment complaints.

"Thanksgiving celebration for the Kadayawan Festival, with VP Sara Duterte... and the petitioners who pushed for the dismissal of the impeachment against VP Sara. Ngiting tagumpay!" said Davao City councilor Luna Acosta in a Facebook post Thursday.

Acosta added their camp is confident in their legal arguments as they will still file a comment to the motion for reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives. 

“We still have to file a comment to the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives, but we are confident in our legal arguments and believe that due process and the rule of law remain supreme above all. Para sa bayan (For the nation)!” she added in her post. 

With 19 votes for, four against, and one abstention, the Senate on Wednesday archived the impeachment complaint.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta initially moved for the dismissal of the articles of impeachment, but agreed to Senator Joel Villanueva's amendment that the complaint be archived instead.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Vicente Sotto III and some members of the minority argued that the Senate should wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on the motion for reconsideration that the Office of the Solicitor General filed on behalf of the House of Representatives.

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.

Duterte entered a “not guilty” plea in the verified impeachment complaint filed against her by the House of Representatives, which she called a “scrap of paper.” 

The Supreme Court earlier declared the articles of impeachment against Duterte unconstitutional, noting that it was barred by the one-year rule under the Constitution and that it violated her right to due process.

The lower chamber then filed a motion for reconsideration, seeking to reverse the SC decision. It argued that it should be allowed to perform its exclusive duty to prosecute an impeachable official, and the Senate's to try the case. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News