Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III has issued a stark warning to his colleagues in the upper chamber, saying senators could face criminal charges if they deliberately stall or reject the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte without due process.
Speaking with reporters via Viber, Sotto shared a July 16 column by Jarius Bondoc published in The Philippine STAR titled “You can criminally charge senators who delay, dismiss impeachment,” stressing, “Senators can be held liable under three laws for delaying or dismissing impeachment trial.”
He said he favors holding open debates on the Senate floor—rather than private caucuses—once the impeachment court reconvenes on July 29 or shortly thereafter. “Maybe it’s better if senators don’t share their thoughts privately. Better in public so the agendas of each other will be out in the open,” Sotto noted.
Bondoc’s column argues that ordinary citizens can file charges against senators who intentionally delay or outright junk the impeachment case without hearing the evidence. Among the cited laws are Article 208 of the Revised Penal Code and provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which punish negligence, favoritism, and abuse of authority by public officials.
The columnist also directly criticized Senate President Francis Escudero, accusing him of holding up the process when the Senate returned the complaint to the House for further compliance with constitutional guidelines.
Escudero rejected the accusation, saying the Senate court’s directive was a matter of ensuring that the case doesn’t violate the constitutional rule against initiating more than one impeachment case against the same official within a year.
Meanwhile, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio clarified that the House of Representatives acted within constitutional bounds. “The Constitution says 10 session days, the House can act on it until the 10th day and if they act on the 10th day, they are not in violation,” Carpio said, referencing jurisprudence that allows the House to consolidate multiple complaints before transmitting them to the Committee on Justice.
With the Senate set to reconvene on August 4, the House prosecution team has confirmed their readiness to proceed with the trial. “We are ready,” said reelected La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V.
