Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has warned on Saturday, June 7, that any attempt to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte through a Senate resolution while the upper chamber is in legislative session would be flawed.

“The motion or the topic is out of order,” Pimentel said in an interview on DZMM, as he asserted that only the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, and not a legislative body, can rule on the case.

He explained that while the same senators serve in both capacities, the impeachment process must be strictly observed.

“Ang kinoconsider namin mga bills and resolutions, ito iba to. Ito gusto mong i-dismiss summarily ang isang kaso na pending sa parehong mga tao pero pending sa aming kakayahan or responsibility bilang senator judges, hindi bilang mambabatas (What we consider are bills and resolutions, but this is different. Here, you're trying to summarily dismiss a case that is pending before the same people, but it's pending in our capacity or responsibility as senator-judges, not as legislators),” he explained.

"Eh nasa mambabatas mode pa kami. Hindi mo pwedeng ipadismiss yung kaso na kami rin ang mag-handle pero sa ibang kapasidad. So out of order po yun (But we’re still in legislator mode. You can’t dismiss a case that we are also supposed to handle, but in a different capacity. So that’s out of order)," he added.

He also expressed deep concern over the integrity of the Senate as moves circulate to summarily dismiss the impeachment complaint against Duterte without trial.

Pimentel criticized what he described as sudden and unexplained changes in the impeachment calendar and the emergence of draft resolutions seeking the dismissal of the complaint.

“Dapat ito wala nang gulatan eh (There shouldn’t be any surprises anymore),” he said, noting that the Senate had originally planned to read the articles of impeachment on June 2 and convene as an impeachment court on June 3.

“Nakakagulat na yun. Bakit gano’n? Nalimutan lang ba yung convening of the court? Or alam mo na na hindi talaga naisulat kasi baka walang plano? (That’s surprising. Why is that? Was the convening of the court just forgotten? Or do you already know it wasn’t written because maybe there was no plan?)” Pimentel said, adding that circulating drafts of a resolution to dismiss the case only deepened his suspicion.

Pimentel warned that bypassing the Senate impeachment trial would violate the Constitution.

“Yung pag-aayaw na litisin ang impeachment case unconstitutional yun (Refusing to hear the impeachment case is unconstitutional)," he said.

"Paglabag sa constitution yun, So yung mga senator na iiwas at aayawan ang paglilitis ng impeachment case, ano yun, violator ng constitution yun kaya 'wag nilang gawin yun (That is a violation of the Constitution. So the senators who avoid or refuse to conduct the impeachment trial, they are violators of the Constitution, so they should not do that)," he added.

According to him, senators are constitutionally obligated to conduct a trial and render a verdict, whether guilty or not guilty, based on evidence.

Pimentel noted a lack of transparency and coordination within the Senate. He pointed to the absence of an all-senators caucus on the matter.

"Wala nga eh. Kaya nga nakakadagdag yan sa worry natin (There really isn’t. That’s why it adds to our worry)," he said.

When asked about Escudero’s explanation that the schedule was adjusted to prioritize legislation, Pimentel said he initially accepted this rationale. However, he began to doubt the explanation when the June 3 court convening was omitted from the rescheduling, and when Escudero used ambiguous language such as “if ever” and “plenary is supreme".

“Yung mga ganyang salita, yan ang nakakabigay ng worry sa atin (It’s those kinds of words that cause us to worry),” Pimentel said.

He urged fellow senators to act in good faith and stick to constitutional processes. With only three session days left before the Senate break, Pimentel emphasized the urgency of clarity and accountability.

"So dapat everybody must act with good faith. Pag sumagot tayo, sumagot tayo ng klaro (So everyone must act with good faith. When we respond, we should respond clearly)," he said.

"Good faith lahat kasi kung yung mga sagot natin ay hindi natin naintindihan palaging double meaning pagdududahan ang buong Senado niyan ang masisira yung institusyon, dapat i-preserve namin yung integrity ng aming institusyon (Everyone must act with good faith because if our answers are unclear or always have double meanings, the whole Senate will be questioned, that will damage the institution. We must preserve the integrity of our institution)," he added.