Senator Alan Peter Cayetano believes the Senate has "no choice" but to carry out its constitutional duty when it comes to Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment case.
And that's to put Duterte on trial based on the articles of impeachment lodged against her.
“Walang choice ang Senado...Hindi mo pwedeng pagbotohan kung ano’ng dapat gawin sa Constitution. Nakalagay sa Constitution, malinaw e. May trial (The Senate has no choice...You cannot put to a vote what should be done with the Constitution. It is clearly stated in the Constitution. There must be a trial),” Cayetano said in a statement.
The veteran legislator and lawyer was obviously alluding to an attempt from his colleague, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, to do away with the impeachment complaint against his ally, Duterte, by mere adoption of a resolution in plenary.
But doing so would skirt the impeachment process as spelled out in the 1987 Charter.
"We have to carry out our constitutional duty," said Cayetano, who had a nuanced view thanks to his being a former House Speaker.
The impeachment case against the Vice President was originated from the 300-plus strong House of Representatives. The chamber transmitted the articles of impeachment way back on Feb. 5.
His stance notwithstanding, Cayetano acknowledged that the timing of the impeachment case made it more complicated than it should.
This was because it was filed just as the 2025 elextion campaign season was starting last February. But now that the polls are over, there are only weeks left before the 19th Congress ends.
“It would have been a totally different case if it's at the start of the term, middle of the term. Pero the reality is finile mo the day na magsastart yung campaign (But the reality is you filed it on the day that the campaign was about to start)…and now we only have two weeks,” he said.
Despite these complications, Cayetano emphasized the importance of staying true to the Constitution.
“Kaya may second oath. Hindi kami pwedeng mag comment [beforehand] kasi mag-oath kami uli that we’ll be fair (That’s why there’s a second oath. We cannot comment [beforehand] because we will take another oath to be fair)," he explained.
The senators will serve as the "judges" in the impeachment trial.