House prepares for plenary vote on VP Sara impeachment articles

The House justice committee found probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte via a unanimous vote, clearing the way for a House plenary vote on the consolidated two impeachment complaints. 

House justice committee chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said that the panel will meet on May 4 to approve the committee report.

Approval of the said committee report in plenary may take place on May 11."The May 11, that is just my recommendation. On May 4, we will approve the committee report, resolution, and Articles of Impeachment. Right after approval, on the same day, we transmit it to the plenary," Luistro said in an online interview today."Once it is in the plenary, we anticipate that they will be transmitting copy of the same to all the members of the House, including the Vice President. This is what's in the decision in the Duterte versus House of Representatives case to provide reasonable time to the House members to read and study the impeachment complaint, including the evidence before the plenary vote," Luistro added.Panel member Rep. Joel Chua, in a separate interview on radio dzBB, said the members may raise amendments or additional information on the report.  If it gets the approval of the members, it will be transmitted to the Committee on Rules, which will then set the date for the plenary vote.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the House justice panel’s committee report and the accompanying Articles of Impeachment should be calendared for plenary action within 10 session days from the receipt of the rules committee. 

The Supreme Court, in a January 2026 decision on the Duterte v. House impeachment case, ruled that session days mean calendar days in cases of impeachment.

Threshold

Once scheduled for plenary action, at least one-third of all members of the House should vote to affirm the decision of the justice committee, which contains the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President. 

After which, the Constitution states that the trial by the Senate “shall forthwith proceed.” 

Based on the House of Representatives’ records, there are 318 members of the House.  This means that the one-third threshold is at 106. 

Chua said the 106 threshold is not far-fetched.

“We already had 53 votes in the committee, and if you will count the House justice panel chairwoman Luistro, that would be 54. We are just short of 52 [to reach 106]. That is within striking distance. It’s doable,” Chua said.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of ML party-list and House Assistant Minority Leader Perci Cendaña of Akbayan party-list agreed, saying that the resounding committee vote should be reflected in the plenary given the lineup of evidence that was revealed during the four days of impeachment hearings. 

“With the unanimous vote in the committee, it makes it easier to get the additional votes we need,” de Lima told reporters.

“After what happened last week where we saw billions of money passing through the bank accounts of the Dutertes and the failure to disclose these in the SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth), I would say that we will not only hit one-third in the plenary. Even those who worry about the repercussions for the 2028 elections will have no choice but to listen to the evidence and support the Articles of Impeachment,” Cendaña added in a separate interview.

Likewise, de Lima and Cendaña believe that the Senate will proceed with the Senate trial as soon as the House transmits the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, unlike in 2025 when the Senate decided to archive the impeachment case against the Vice President during the leadership of then Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

“We can hope that it should be forthwith because of the Constitution. We see that the Senate leadership is very conscious and aware of that. They know the true meaning of the word forthwith,” said de Lima, a former Justice chief.

“Holding public officials accountable is an as soon as possible task because the longer they stay in power, the greater damage they inflict on the government and the people. We're hoping that the Senate leadership will act immediately when the Articles of Impeachment are sent to them,” Cendaña added.

The House impeachment rules state that the prosecution panel will be composed of 11 members who can also enlist the help of private prosecutors to build up the case.

The 1987 Constitution provides that an impeachable officer won't be convicted before the Senate impeachment court without two-thirds or 18 of the 24 senator-judges voting for the conviction.

Likewise, the Charter states that judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment according to law. —LDF, GMA News