The House of Representatives on Wednesday night, June 11, formally deferred the acceptance of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte that was remanded by the Senate impeachment court pending clarification sought by the House prosecution panel from the senator-judges.
House defers acceptance of impeachment articles from Senate
At A Glance
- The House of Representatives on Wednesday night, June 11, formally deferred the acceptance of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte that was remanded by the Senate impeachment court pending clarification sought by the House prosecution panel from the senator-judges.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
In the last House plenary session before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die, Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Inno" Dy moved to direct the House secretary general to defer the impeachment articles "until such time as the Senate sitting as an impeachment court has responded to the clarificatory queries raised by the panel of prosecutors relative to the remand of the subject articles".
House Deputy Speaker Antipolo 1st district Rep. Roberto Puno, the presiding officer, carried the motion after a simple voice vote.
"Is there any objection? The chair hears none, the motion is carried," Puno said upon Dy's motion.
Just minutes earlier, the congressmen also adopted House Resolution (HR) No. 2346, which affirmed the constitutional compliance of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
The resolution affirms that the impeachment proceedings initiated on Feb. 5, 2025 was "endorsed and verified by at least one third" of the House members and "fully complied with Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the 1987 Constitution, including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints".
The particular provision stated that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year."
Dy also moved to direct the secretary general to issue the certification in accordance with the adopted resolution, which Puno also approved.
On Tuesday, the Senate impeachment court decided to remand to the House of Representatives the articles of impeachment against Duterte, in a bid to certify the non-violation of the provision.
The Senate impeachment court also sought to ensure that the House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicates to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the House prosecution panel said it would first ask for clarification from the Senate impeachment court as to why it returned the articles of impeachment.