THE Senate impeachment court has accepted the manifestation of the House prosecution panel to withdraw three of the four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In his ruling, Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Articles I, which covers the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Duterte’s time as its secretary; Article III, which covers bribery and procurement irregularities; and Article IV, which involves the threats she made against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, are deemed withdrawn, leaving Article II, which contains allegations of unexplained wealth, as the only charge to be adjudicated in the impeachment trial.
Escudero ordered that Articles I and IV be withdrawn with prejudice as against Duterte, meaning the House can no longer revive or refile substantially the same impeachment accusations against the Vice President during her current term and in the present 20th Congress.
“The test that the Court will apply is substantive and not merely verbal. Despite changes in phrasing or legal characterization, a later article is the same if it seeks the removal of the respondent during the same term for the same operative conduct and ultimate constitutional charge during this 20th Congress,” Escudero said.
“This bar applies only to impeachment as a process of constitutional removal, however, it does not grant immunity, nor does it constitute double jeopardy against the prosecution for any underlying conduct. It does not bar criminal, civil, administrative, electoral, disciplinary, or other professional proceedings in accordance with law, each of which is governed by its own jurisdictional, substantive, evidentiary, and procedural rules,” he added.
Article III, on the other hand, was allowed to be withdrawn without prejudice.
Unlike Article III, the House prosecution had already presented and completed its evidentiary case under Articles I and IV.
Escudero added that the defense would no longer be required to present evidence, specifically to answer the three abandoned articles.
Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison said this was “completely unfair” to the respondent, considering she would no longer be given the chance to defend herself after lengthy discussions of the three dropped articles that damaged her reputation.
In an interview with reporters before the prosecution submitted its manifestation, Duterte viewed the initial dropping of the bribery charge against her as an indication of insufficient evidence.
“Ito yung pag-drop ng bribery charge sa impeachment, ito ‘yung sinasabi namin sa simula pa lang, doon pa lang sa House of Representatives, the moment the groups filed the impeachment complaint, na walang ebidensya, lahat nung kanilang akusasyon. O dahil nga wala silang ebidensya ngayon, kailangan na nilang i-drop, o hindi talakayin,” Duterte said.
(This is what we have been saying from the very beginning, even when the groups filed the impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives, that there was no evidence for any of their accusations. Now that they have no evidence, they have to drop the bribery charge or refrain from discussing it.)
Duterte also maintained that the impeachment case filed against her was intended only to damage her reputation ahead of the 2028 national elections.
“Kung matutuloy man ang 2028 national elections, expect niyo na ‘yung dayaan diyan at expect niyo na na tutuloy-tuloy yung tawag nila ng black propaganda,” she added.
(If the 2028 national elections push through, expect cheating and expect their so-called black propaganda to continue.)
The Vice President reiterated that resigning would never be an option for her, reaffirming her plan to seek the presidency in 2028.
“In one way, nakikita ko as a blessing ‘yung impeachment trial dahil diyan ay makikilatis at ma-scrutinize na ng mga tao ‘yung mga katanungan nila sa pagkatao ko,” Duterte said.
(In a way, I see the impeachment trial as a blessing because people will now be able to examine and scrutinize the questions they have about my character.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)