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Carpio: Senate mandated to convene impeachment court vs Sara Duterte
The Senate is mandated to convene as an impeachment court once the House of Representatives sends the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Friday.
"What is stated in the Constitution, once the Articles of Impeachment is submitted to the Senate, trial shall proceed forthwith," Carpio told reporters at the sidelines of the launch of a signature effort to pass an anti-dynasty law banning relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity from running for a national public office post at the same time.
"It can't end on a motion to dismiss; there has to be a trial. After the trial, they can vote. It is the mandate of the Senate,” he added.
Former SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio: What is stated in the Constitution is that once the Articles of Impeachment is submitted to the Senate, trial shall proceed forthwith. It can't end on a motion to dismiss. There has to be a trial. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/g7E5TjUgtV
— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) May 8, 2026
At least two-thirds of the members of the Senate, or 18 of the 24 senators, need to vote yes on the Articles of Impeachment for the House prosecution panel to secure the conviction of the Vice President before the Senate impeachment court.
The two-thirds threshold is provided for by the Constitution.
“Even if the majority says they don’t want a trial, they cannot do that. May Tagalog version ang Constitution. Forthwith ay agad-agad. Klarong klaro ‘yun eh,” Carpio added.
Senator Robinhood Padilla earlier said the minority bloc may oppose the convening of the impeachment court, adding it is "part of their job".
"Hindi ba ang papel naman ng minority ay to oppose? Hindi lang impeachment, lahat ng bagay dito, ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose. Kaya sana huwag kaming pagbintangan na pag kami ay nag-o-oppose, kami ay biased. Trabaho ng minority 'yun. 'Yan ang parliamentary procedure na dapat naming sundin," he said.
(Isn't opposing part of our job? Not only in impeachment, but in everything here. Our mandate is to oppose. We hope the public will not say we are not biased. That is the minority's job and parliamentary procedure we need to follow.)
Other minority bloc members, including Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Imee Marcos, said they have yet to discuss the possible blocking of the convening of the impeachment court.
"Wala pa kaming napag-uusapan na ganun...Wala na akong duda. Madali kasi ''yung 1/3 [votes]," Marcos said.
(We have yet to discuss it. They will acquire 1/3 votes.)
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Monday said that under the Constitution, senators are mandated to convene as an impeachment court "forthwith" or immediately following the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment from the lower chamber.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the impeachment of the Vice President on Monday, May 11.
At least 200 House members, or way more than the Constitutionally required one-third of the House's 318 members, are expected to vote in favor of the impeachment of the Vice President, according to House leaders.
The House justice panel alleged that the Vice President committed culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes, based on the following articles of impeachment:
a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief
b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official
c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024; f
d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025
e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.
f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and the former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.
Robin fires back at Leila
In a related development, Padilla fired back at House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and ML Party-list Representative Leila de Lima, who earlier said the senator "doesn't seem to understand the job of the minority" following his remarks on the impeachment.
"Madame Congresswoman, the very meaning of being an 'opposition' is the act of disagreement, resistance, or hostility toward someone or something," said Padilla on Facebook.
"In politics, it frequently takes the form of a party or person competing against another. It implies acting against a proposal, policy, or leader—often representing 'the opposition,' the largest non-government party in a parliament," he said.
Recalling her role as a minority senator, Padilla also cited de Lima's opposition to former President Rodrigo Duterte's platforms, which he said was never agreed upon by her group.
"If you think I am biased regarding the impeachment, I believe your group is biased as well. However, if the impeachment court is ever convened, I hope you remember that as senators, we must remove our hats as legislators and put on the hats of judges," he said.
"That is where our biases end and our oath to the Constitution starts," he added.
Padilla said: "Lecturing me about the minority and the majority is lame; of all people, you should know the nature of the power struggle in both houses".
"At our age, we should be living in the real world of politics. I do not live by a script—I have never had one in my political life. I will be a revolutionary until my last day. To be frank, I am not on any side but God’s side," he added.—AOL, GMA News
