Dela Rosa moves for dismissal of impeachment case vs Sara Duterte
Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa
MANILA, Philippines— Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday moved for the dismissal of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a privilege speech, Dela Rosa accused the House of Representatives of circumventing the Constitution with its “intentional inaction” on the first three impeachment complaints lodged against Duterte in December 2024.
It was the fourth impeachment case against Duterte that was transmitted to the Senate for trial last February 5.
“If the first three impeachment complaints passed through Edsa, it appears that the House of Representatives chose the Skyway as the path of the fourth one en route to the Senate,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.
Had the House of Representatives complied with its own rules and the Constitution, he said, the first three impeachment complaints would have been referred to the appropriate committee by the time the fourth impeachment complaint was filed.
“In other words, your Honors, the intentional inaction of the House of Representatives allowed its members to purportedly circumvent the one-year ban enshrined in Article XI, Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution,” the Dela Rosa pointed out.
“Given the glaring circumvention of the Constitution, should we allow impeachment complaints which are Constitutionally-infirm to be heard and tried by this body?” he then asked.
In the end, Dela Rosa later moved for the dismissal of impeachment case against the Vice President.
“I respectfully move that, in view of its Constitutional infirmities and question on the jurisdiction and authority of the 20th Congress, the verified impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte be dismissed,” he said.
After his speech, Dela Rosa called on Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who agreed with his motion.
But even before Go could proceed, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero reminded the latter that he was not recognized yet to speak on the floor.
