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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Defiant Chua says Senate's archiving of VP Duterte impeachment 'not checkmate'

Defiant Chua says Senate's archiving of VP Duterte impeachment 'not checkmate'

Published Aug 6, 2025 09:04 pm

At A Glance

  • The Senate's archiving of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday night, Aug. 6 is "not checkmate".
Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB)
Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB)


The Senate's archiving of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday night, Aug. 6 is "not checkmate".
A defiant Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua had this to say even as the members of the upper chamber seemingly dusted off their hands of the House of Representatives-initiated impeachment case.
"We shall not be deterred in our quest for accountability. The Senate action today is not a checkmate," Chua said.
"We are merely at an impasse. This game is far from over. We still have strong moves to make in this high-stakes battle for justice and accountability," he added.
The impeachment articles contained in the complaint--most notably the Vice President's alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds--was based on the findings of an inquiry by the Chua-led Committee on Government and Public Accountability during the previous 19th Congress.
On a vote of 19-4-1 (yes-no-abstain), the Senate upheld Senator Rodante Marcoleta's motion during plenary session Wednesday to archive the impeachment rap. This, after the Supreme Court (SC) declared the complaint unconstitutional due to a technicality last July 25.
Marcoleta had wanted to dismiss the complaint outright, but settled with the compromise "motion to archive" after Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson pointed out that there was no such thing as a "motion to dismiss" in plenary. 
Chua said that the Senate "denied due process to the Filipino people".
Chua retained his chairmanship of the good government panel in the current 20th Congress.
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