Before chaos and pandemonium broke out at the Senate building in Pasay City on Wednesday night, May 13 the House of Representatives concerned itself with just one thing--physically transmitting impeachment documents against Vice President Sara Duterte to the upper chamber.

And it accomplished that in a quiet and orderly manner, all things considered.

The impeachment complaint, which was approved by the House plenary by an overwhelming vote of 257-25-9 (yes-no-abstain), was transmitted at exactly 7:22 p.m. Wednesday by House Secretary General Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil to the Senate through Senate Sec. Mark Llandro “Dong” Mendoza.

At around the same time, tensions heightened at the Senate as multiple gunshots of still unknown nature were heard from the inside. This, as Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa--considered a wanted man by the International Criminal Court (ICC)--holed himself up at the building.

"The transmittal of the articles of impeachment to the Senate last night was completed successfully and in an orderly manner despite the many developments unfolding simultaneously," Garafil said on Thursday, May 14.

"Throughout the process, the House of Representatives remained focused on fulfilling its constitutional duty faithfully, professionally, and without disruption," she noted.

Garafil said the official transmittal of the came after the completion of the reproduction, collation, and verification of the impeachment records and supporting attachments, which reportedly ran into thousands of pages.

She explained that the Secretariat prioritized the accuracy and completeness of the records before transmission.

“The transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment marks the beginning of the next constitutional phase of the process, and the House Secretariat made sure that all records were complete and in proper order prior to submission,” Garafil said.

“The accuracy of our submission is our paramount concern,” she underscored.

The articles of impeachment against Duterte stemmed from findings and recommendations contained in Committee Report (CR) No. 261 adopted by the House through House Resolution (HR) No. 989.

The complaint cited allegations involving the misuse of confidential funds, supposed violations of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other impeachable offenses.

With the formal transmittal, the Senate is constitutionally mandated to convene as an impeachment court "forthwith" to try the Vice President.

Earlier, Senator Imee Marcos accused the House of delaying the impeachment trial against Vice President Duterte by citing the reproduction of “voluminous documents”. She claimed that the House had enough staff to reproduce the documents and transmit the articles without taking days.

The Senate leadership changed on the same day Duterte was impeached for the second time on May 11, with the majority now composed mostly of Duterte-aligned senators led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, who is part of the 11-strong House prosecution team in the imposed trial, says there is no malice in the House’s preparation of the impeachment documents.

“Ginagawa po ng Kamara sa bagay po na ito para tiyakin po na yong lahat na yong lahat ng due process requirements patungkol po sa pangalawang pangulo at sa kabuuan po ng proseso ay magampanan po nang tama at maayos ng mababang kapulungan,” he said in a statement.

(The House of Representatives is undertaking this effort to ensure that all due process requirements concerning the vice president, and the entirety of the procedure, are properly and correctly fulfilled by the lower chamber.)

While acknowledging Marcos’ concerns regarding the transmittal of the articles of impeachment, Ridon emphasized that the current proceedings differ from the first impeachment complaint, which was transmitted to the Senate on the same day Duterte was first impeached on Feb. 5, 2025.

According to Ridon, the current impeachment proceedings followed the first mode of impeachment under House rules, where complaints were filed and referred to the Committee on Justice. It can be recalled that the 2025 impeachment of the Vice President was carried out solely in House plenary under the equally constitutional "fast track" mode.

“Dumaan po ito sa House Committee on Justice kung saan saklaw po ng naging pagdinig at mga pagkalap ng mga dokumento at ebidensya. So rightfully so, mas makapal at mas mahaba po yong dokumento at ebidensyang pinaguusapan po natin,” he added.

(This went through the House Committee on Justice, where hearings were held and documents and evidence were gathered. So rightfully, the documents and evidence being discussed here are thicker and more extensive.)