The Senate on Wednesday, February 5 adjourned its plenary session without taking up the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The Articles of Impeachment against the vice president was received by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug in the afternoon but was not reported to the plenary before it adjourned sessions before 7 p.m.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said it was Bantug who should have announced during the plenary session that the Senate is in receipt about the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.
“The Senate Secretary should have reported it to the body if he receives it,” Pimentel told reporters in an interview.
This opens the possibility that the Senate will tackle the impeachment bid against Duterte in June, or after the May 2025 elections. Congress will resume sessions on June 2.
But Pimentel said there is still the possibility that the Senate could act on the impeachment complaint during the break. Accordingly, the Senate rules could be waived if no senator would object.
“What I’m saying is that it’s a very extraordinary situation. If no one will raise an issue or object or cite any violation of the rules, then it is valid,” Pimentel said.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte with 215 members endorsing the complaint against her. The complainants cited culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes for impeaching the vice president.
Bantug, in an interview, admitted to reporters that he has yet to make a special report to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero because it is his duty to provide completed staff work to the Senate chief and to all the members of the Senate.
“The process earlier, it was ministerial on my part to receive the verified complaint, the annexes but after that—and I made it clear to the secretary general—that I have to perform staff work insofar as making sure that whatever the House transmitted is what the Senate also received,” Bantug said.
Thus, the Articles of Impeachment was not raised during the plenary session. After receiving the documents, Bantug said his office started the process of comparing and matching the documents.