The potential Senate impeachment court dismissal of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment case without holding a trial may affect her should she seek higher office in the future.

This was according to Senator Erwin Tulfo, who is in favor of pushing through with the impeachment trial as it would allow Vice President Duterte to clear her name. It will also give the public a chance to examine the evidence and end speculation surrounding the allegations against her.

“Kawawa din naman siya, 'pag naging Pangulo siya isang araw, susundan siya nang susundan. Sasabihin ng mga kalaban niya, mga oposisyon. 'Oh, meron ka pang kaso, kinausap niyo lang yung Supreme Court. Buti, pinayagan kayo ng Supreme Court’ (She's pitiful, too. If she becomes President one day, that issue will keep following her. Her critics, the opposition, will say, 'Oh, you still have a case—you just talked to the Supreme Court and luckily they worked around it'),” he said in an interview over DWIZ on Saturday, Aug. 2.

He said a proper trial would allow both the senator-judges and the public to scrutinize the charges, including allegations of betrayal of public trust and misuse of intelligence funds.

Tulfo was also asked about a circulating draft resolution authored by Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan which sought to express the Senate’s appeal to the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its ruling on the impeachment case filed against Duterte.

So far, the resolution has reportedly been signed by Pangilinan, as well as Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Senate Minority Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. The resolution has yet to be filed and it is currently being reviewed by other senators.

Tulfo admitted he has yet to read the draft resolution but says he is open to signing it if it aligns with his position on holding a proper trial.

“Hindi ko pa nakikita. Talaga kailangan kong basahin muna kung ano nilalaman noon...Then kung maganda naman, kung sangayon doon sa gusto ko na magkaroon ng trial, why not? Ba't hindi ako pipirma? Pipirmahan ko yun (I haven’t seen it yet. I really need to read what it contains first... Then if it’s good—if it aligns with my desire to have a trial—why not? Why wouldn’t I sign it? I’ll sign it),” Tulfo said.

Tulfo stressed that dismissing the case without examining the evidence would only feed doubts and create a lingering cloud over Duterte’s name.

He says that if during the trial, he personally sees that the evidence presented are baseless or meaningless, he'd stand up right there and say: “Mr. President, can we dismiss this already instead of wasting our time and effort?”

He highlighted that even the Vice President's own camp has expressed readiness to face the charges in court, and that a trial would give her a chance to clear her name fairly and transparently.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview at Usapang Senado on DWIZ, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said that it would be better if Pangilinan's resolution does not reach his office at all since he won't sign it.

He also expressed confidence that the majority of senators would abide by the SC ruling that declared VP Duterte's impeachment complaint unconstitutional.

"Sure pa sa liwanag ng umaga (As sure as the morning light)," he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy "Ejercito" Estrada has stated that 19 to 20 senators are keen on abiding by the high court's ruling.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced on Tuesday, July 29, that the chamber, during an all-member caucus, agreed to set a specific date to deliberate on the matter.

The move, he said, is intended to give senators sufficient time to study the SC’s 97-page decision, along with the concurring and separate opinions filed by five or six justices.