New impeachment rules to retain constitutional fast-track mode —House leader

The House of Representatives will retain the fast-track mode of impeaching officials with at least one-third vote of all the House members in its revised rules on impeachment proceedings, as such is anchored on the Constitution, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor said Monday.

“The fast mode stays, it cannot be removed because it is embodied clearly in the provisions of the Constitution,” Defensor, who chairs the committee rewriting the House Rules, told reporters.

“Filing an impeachment complaint and having it endorsed by at least one third of all the members of Congress will remain and should go directly to the Senate for trial, again, forthwith. What the Supreme Court said was a mere suggestion that maybe the impeachment complaint should still undergo House committee on justice deliberations even if it is already endorsed by at least one-third of all the House members. But on our part, we followed the Constitutional provision on this,” he added.

Defensor was referring to Article 11 Section 3 of the Constitution, which provides 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." 

Defensor made the response after the Supreme Court, in a January 28 resolution, declared the 2025 impeachment case against the Vice President Rodrigo Duterte unconstitutional.  

The high court also stated that the Articles of Impeachment and supporting evidence must be provided to House members; the evidence must meet the required quantum of proof to establish the charges; and, the evidence must be made available to all House Members for their information and guidance in deciding on the complaint during plenary deliberations.

These three guidelines did not exist when the House impeached the Vice President on February 5, 2025. 

The other mode of impeachment is when a verified complaint may be filed by any House member or by any citizen, provided that it is endorsed by at least one member of the chamber. This mode is the longer route, since an impeachment complaint of this nature has to hurdle the following next steps: 

• the verified impeachment complaint must be filed before the House Office of the Secretary General
• the House Office of the Secretary General must transmit the same to the Office of the Speaker, who has to include the complaint in the Order of Business within 10 session days upon receipt
• the House plenary has to refer the complaint to the House justice panel within three session days thereafter. 
• the House justice panel will determine its sufficiency in form and substance and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within 60 session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. 
• the resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof, and 
• a vote of at least one-third of all the members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution

”The Constitution is the highest law of our land. Whatever it is that is defective in an impeachment complaint, if it is endorsed by at least one-third of all the members of Congress, it is the Senate Impeachment court that will decide the fate of that impeachment complaint,” Defensor said.

“If an impeachment complaint is endorsed by at least one-third of all the members, the right to reply is already with the Senate who will issue a subpoena and a notice to the respondent to first file an answer to the impeachment complaint transmitted to the Senate and for the members or the prosecution team on trial to file its reply,” he added.

House good government and public accountability panel chairperson Joel Chua earlier said that the House will revise its impeachment rules due to the SC ruling.—LDF, GMA Integrated News