Senators: Sara Duterte impeachment court to proceed despite SC order

Sen. Joel Villanueva — Photo from Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

[Updated July 25, 2025, 9:31 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — Senators on Friday said the impeachment court against Vice President Sara Duterte would still proceed even after a Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring the fourth impeachment complaint against her as “unconstitutional.”

Sen. Joel Villanueva explained that this is because the impeachment court is “sui generis,” a legal term meaning it is unique and operates independently from the procedures applying to regular courts.

“Whether the Supreme Court made that decision or not, the impeachment court will proceed. We’ll proceed,” said Villanueva in a chance interview.

“I’m sure someone will raise it during the impeachment proceedings. For sure, someone will raise it. But the impeachment court is sui generis. So we will proceed. So these are all questions that will be raised with the decision of the Supreme Court,” he added.

He likened it to what occurred during former Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment proceedings where the SC issued a temporary restraining order — but the Senate impeachment court ultimately ignored it after voting to do so.

“So there is a precedent … it’s still the impeachment court’s decision,” he said.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III shared the same thing, saying that he was told by a “legal luminary” that the Senate impeachment court could disregard the SC decision.

However, he also said that the lawyer’s advice would still be studied.

“Being a member of the impeachment court, I would rather hear what the [House of Representatives] has to say,” said Sotto in a separate ambush interview.

“I was just told by a legal luminary that in this situation, we can disregard the SC decision. Let me study that advice,” he added.

Sotto, however, later stated in a message to reporters that while the decision was “unexpected,” he submitted to the judicial wisdom of the SC.

“It is unexpected, but to preserve our system of government, that the Supreme Court is the sole judge of the constitutionality of executive and legislative actions,  I submit to their judicial wisdom,” said Sotto.

He then noted how there has been a “climate change,” since the high court used to refrain from touching political issues.

“There was a time when the Court did not touch a political question. This is a complete climate change, exactly on the eve of the opening of the 20th Congress,” said Sotto.

When asked if the Senate impeachment court would still have to convene before deciding what to do, Sotto responded that he is still studying it, and is seeking advice from legal experts.

Sen. Bam Aquino, for his part, expressed his sentiments that the impeachment trial must still proceed and called for a caucus to tackle the SC decision and the Senate’s constitutional role.

“As a co-equal branch, the Senate’s constitutional mandate and authority are clear, so the impeachment process should be respected,” said Aquino.

“(I call on my fellow senators to immediately hold a caucus to discuss the decision that disregards our constitutional duty,” he added.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, expressed confusion over the SC’s decision, which cited a violation of the “one-year bar rule” on impeachment complaints.

“One thing we find puzzling is how the “one-year bar rule” was violated when only a single case was filed with the Senate,” said Hontiveros.

Citing a previous decision, Gutierrez vs. House of Representatives (G.R. No. 193459), Hontiveros pointed out how the SC made it clear that the one-year bar rule “refers to the element of time, and not the number of complaints.”

The SC, said Hontiveros, also stated that “the measure of protection afforded by the Constitution is that if the impeachable officer is made to undergo such ride, he or she should be made to traverse it just once.”

Hontiveros also lamented how the SC seemed to have added more requirements to the process of impeachment.

“I can only hope that this new ruling will not adversely affect future efforts to hold our highest public officers accountable,” said Hontiveros.

She then maintained that all public officials should be held accountable and that the public has every right to demand answers.

“We will fight for this,” she said in Filipino.

Other senators say otherwise

While some senators already declared their intent to ensure that the impeachment trial will continue against Duterte, others expressed the opposite — particularly those who are allied with the Vice President.

Sen. Imee Marcos said the SC should be respected and called on her fellow senators to “resume working.”

“Galangin at respetuhin ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema (respect and uphold the decision of the Supreme Court),” said Marcos in a statement.

“To my fellow senators — it’s time to get back to work. Let’s focus on serving the people. Enough with the politics, for now!” she added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa invoked the guidance of the “Holy Spirit” in welcoming the SC’s decision.

“When I moved for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint vs Vice President Sara, I was guided by the Holy Spirit,” said dela Rosa in a Facebook post.

“When the SC ruled it as unconstitutional I’m sure they were guided also by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit defeated the forces of evil! Hallelujah!” he added.

Senate President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada also welcomed the decision, tagging it as a “vital reminder that all efforts to hold public officials accountable must be firmly grounded in legality and due process.”

“As a co-equal branch of government, we must abide by the decision of the Supreme Court. Even in a political process like impeachment proceedings, we must adhere to established procedures and due process to ensure that our actions are neither arbitrary nor solely driven by political agendas,” said Estrada in a statement.

“Now, we can focus on more pressing issues confronting the country, as well as the rehabilitation of areas devastated by the spate of typhoons that have hit the country over the past several days,” he added.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also recognized the SC’s authority, stating that his actions have always been guided by the Constitution.

“The Supreme Court has spoken and I respect the unanimous decision of the Court declaring the House of Representatives’ impeachment complaint unconstitutional,” said Gatchalian in a statement. /das /mr