MANILA, Philippines– The Senate adjourned its session on Wednesday without addressing the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senate Secretary Renato Bantug received the Articles at 5:49 PM but was not presented to the plenary before the session ended shortly before 7:00 PM.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III noted that it was Bantug’s responsibility to report the Articles to the Senate body.
Pimentel explained that the senate secretary should formally announce receipt of the impeachment complaint during the plenary session. However, this was not done before the Senate adjourned.
The House of Representatives endorsed the impeachment complaint against Duterte, with 215 of 306 members voting in favor of the verified complaint.
The grounds for impeachment include allegations of “culpable violation of the Constitution,” “betrayal of public trust,” “graft and corruption,” and other high crimes.
Specific allegations cited in the complaint include an alleged plot to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The complaint also mentions her alleged misuse of confidential funds and failure to disclose all her properties in her statement of assets and liabilities.
While the Senate has adjourned for a break and is set to resume on June 2, Pimentel suggested that the Senate could still act on the impeachment bid during the break if there is unanimous consent from all members.
He emphasized that Senate rules could be waived under such extraordinary circumstances, provided there are no objections.