“Swift, reasonable, and dignified.”

This was how former Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesman Barry Gutierrez described the House of Representative’s response to the Senate’s remanding of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a statement, Gutierrez lauded the lower chamber for adopting House Resolution No. 2346, which reaffirmed that the impeachment complaint strictly complied with all constitutional requirements after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, returned the articles of impeachment to the House.

“The House response was swift, reasonable, and dignified. Maayos, kahit kung tutuusin, binastos sila ng Senado with that insulting and unconstitutional 'remand’ (It was proper, even if the Senate was rude with that insulting and unconstitutional ‘remand’),” the former Akbayan lawmaker said.

“This restores some sanity to a process that went off the rails after the embarrassing spectacle at the Senate,” he added.

On Tuesday, shortly before the Senate adjourned sine die, the impeachment court voted 18-5 to remand the articles of impeachment to the House, in a move that drew sharp criticism from legal experts and pro-democracy advocates, who view it as a derailment of the constitutionally mandated trial.
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Under HR 2346, the House also asserted the chamber’s prerogative in initiating the impeachment proceedings.

But it has yet to transmit the resolution to the Senate, with the House prosecution team saying that it would wait for the clarification from the Senate regarding the basis of its remand action.

But Gutierrez lamented that the Senate’s move has constitutional ramifications.

“Walang institusyon na mas mataas sa Saligang Batas (No institution is higher than the Constitution). The Senate must be reminded that it stands on equal footing with the House of Representatives - they are co-equal branches of government. The impeachment process is not akin to a thesis defense where senators act as professors and the House as a student whose work can be returned at will,” he said.

“Malinaw ang itinatakda ng Konstitusyon (The Constitution is clear), once the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted to the Senate, it is their constitutional duty to proceed with the trial. Walang dahilan para ipagpaliban ito (There is no reason to postpone it). Delaying justice is denying justice,” he added.

The former lawmaker pointed out that the Senate might be setting a precedent wherein it empowers itself to unilaterally halt constitutionally grounded processes.

“The duty of the Senate as an impeachment court is to try the case, at hindi pagdudahan ang ipinasang impeachment complaints ng House (and not to doubt the impeachment complaints passed by the House). The Filipino people deserve transparency, not political maneuvering,” he said.

“Let’s be clear: this is about the rule of law,” Gutierrez emphasized. “The House acted with clarity and courage. It’s time for the Senate to do the same.”

The Vice President is facing an impeachment complaint owing to a death threat she made against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez in November last year, as well as betrayal of public trust and the alleged misuse of the controversial public funds.