PHILIPPINE senators voted late Wednesday to archive the impeachment complaint against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio after the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling that declared the proceedings unconstitutional.
After hours of plenary debate, senators approved a motion by Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta, who argued the Senate never formally acquired jurisdiction over the complaint and that the Supreme Court’s decision was “immediately executory,” to archive the case.
Archiving the case means it could be reopened later with majority approval.
“The Supreme Court has already spoken, the last arbiter of law,” he said on the Senate floor. “It says that the complaint was unconstitutional, is void ab initio, is violative of due process.”
The High Court earlier ruled that the impeachment of Ms. Duterte violated the constitutional ban on filing more than one impeachment complaint within a year and breached her right to due process. It said any new complaint against her could only be filed by Feb. 6 next year.
Four impeachment complaints had been filed against the Vice-President since December 2024. The House of Representatives dismissed the first three, but the fourth was endorsed by more than 200 lawmakers — exceeding the one-third constitutional requirement to send the charges to the Senate.
Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano amended Mr. Marcoleta’s motion to dismiss to a motion to archive the case.
“You only have two choices,” he said. “Do you follow the Supreme Court, or you don’t follow?” Mr. Cayetano asked fellow senators.
He said archiving means the complaint would be set aside but could be revived by majority approval if needed.
Meanwhile, Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. would not interfere in the impeachment proceedings.
“The administration and the President respect [the court’s decision],” she told a news briefing in New Delhi livestreamed on Facebook. “The President won’t interfere in the Senate’s job.”
Ms. Duterte, seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, was impeached in February on allegations including fund misuse, unexplained wealth, destabilization efforts, and plotting to assassinate President Marcos, his wife and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. She has denied all charges.
Earlier on Wednesday, House prosecution spokesman Antonio Audie Z. Bucoy said Senate dismissal of the impeachment charges without trial is premature because the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the case is under appeal and not yet final.
He urged senators to reconvene the impeachment court if the high tribunal reverses its earlier decision declaring the ouster move against Ms. Duterte unconstitutional.
“If the parties want to do it, if they want to follow, they can,” Mr. Bucoy told a news briefing in Filipino. “But there’s still a chance for it to be reviewed.”
The House has sought a reconsideration of the tribunal’s ruling.
Mr. Bucoy warned that if the Senate dismisses the charges outright based on a ruling that may still be reversed, it would reflect poorly on lawmakers.
“It will only show that they’re really rushing it, that they’re in a hurry to finish,” he said. “The justices — they’re human too, and capable of making mistakes.”
He added that the articles of impeachment remain valid should the SC reverse its decision.
Mr. Bucoy warned that upholding the SC’s decision could make it harder to hold high-ranking officials accountable. “You now have to go through the eye of a needle just to hold a guilty public official accountable.” — Adrian H. Halili and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio