VICE President Sara Duterte (seated second from right) in a jovial mood after the Senate archived the Articles of Impeachment.
DAVAO CITY – Vice President Sara Duterte has met her legal team and petitioners who advocated dismissing the impeachment complaint filed against her during a Thanksgiving gathering after the Senate archived the Articles of Impeachment on Wednesday.
Councilor Luna Marie Dominique Acosta, one of the case petitioners, shared the recent update in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 7. She did not mention the venue of their gathering.
Duterte also attended the Misa Pasasalamat for the Kadayawan Festival 2025 at San Pedro Cathedral here on Thursday.
The Senate voted 19–4–1 in favor of archiving the impeachment complaint, effectively pausing proceedings while a motion for reconsideration remains pending before the Supreme Court.
Despite the Senate decision, Acosta noted that they are still required to submit a comment on the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives.
“We are confident in our legal arguments and believe that due process and the rule of law remain supreme. For the nation!” Acosta said.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte was previously endorsed in the House but faced legal challenges that ultimately led to its shelving by the Senate.
Minority Leader Tito Sotto and Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed concern that shelving the case could lead to its quiet dismissal.
Senate President Francis Escudero clarified that archiving does not equate to termination, and the Senate retains the option to revive the complaint should the Supreme Court overturn its earlier ruling.
The move to archive followed a six-hour deliberation, culminating in Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva’s amendment to a prior motion to dismiss, initially filed by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
Villanueva’s revised motion, seen as a compromise, won majority support.
Voting against the motion were Sotto, Hontiveros, and Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino and Francis Pangilinan, who also voiced concern over the implications of shelving the complaint.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson abstained, citing the lack of finality in the SC decision. “I would rather wait, not preempt, the final ruling of the High Court,” Lacson said.
The House of Representatives has filed a motion for reconsideration through the Office of the Solicitor General, seeking a reversal of the July 25 ruling.