A PETITION urging the Supreme Court (SC) to compel the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and begin a trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, despite the Senate being on a four-month break, was filed on Friday, February 14, 2025.
In his petition for mandamus, lawyer Catalino Generillo Jr. cited a provision in the Constitution mandating the Senate to “immediately constitute” an impeachment court upon receiving the Articles of Impeachment verified and submitted by the House of Representatives and to “forthwith proceed” with the trial.
He said that immediately starting an impeachment trial is an “inescapable constitutional duty” of the Senate.
“In the final analysis, the Constitution does not allow the Senate to procrastinate during its recess, whether it shall constitute itself into an impeachment court and try the Vice President. If it were so, the framers of the Constitution wrote a useless provision. Woe to the so-called doctrine of the supremacy of the Constitution,” the petition read.
A copy of the petition was sent to Senate President Francis Escudero and the Office of the Solicitor General.
On February 5, the last day of Congress before it went on a four-month break ahead of the May 2025 midterm elections, the House of Representatives impeached Duterte and immediately submitted the seven Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
The Senate adjourned its sessions without discussing the matter.
Earlier, Escudero said the impeachment trial against Duterte “cannot be done legally” while Congress is on break. He explained that the trial cannot be started yet because the impeachment court should be convened during a regular session.
Escudero stated that, for now, while the impeachment court has not yet convened, they can begin reviewing all related processes, including revisiting the rules of impeachment, noting that some provisions need updating.
Professor Rene Sarmiento, one of the conveners of the 1987 Constitution, said the Senate must start the impeachment trial “forthwith,” which means immediately. Although the Constitution does not specify a timeline, this is to prevent complications that may arise ahead of the change in Congress due to the midterm elections.
He added that the President could call a special session of the Senate to begin the impeachment procedures.
Sarmiento emphasized the importance of the impeachment trial for the Filipino people, stating that it is a matter of accountability for public officers and may serve as a deterrent to illegal activities by government servants.
Among the grounds for the impeachment complaints are Duterte’s alleged involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., his wife, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez; the malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Secretary from 2022 to 2024; and alleged bribery and corruption within the DepEd. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)