Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III signaled readiness to bring back the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte if the Supreme Court (SC) overturns its earlier decision declaring the articles of impeachment unconstitutional.
“Hypothetically, if the SC decision is reversed, I and Senator Sotto will move to pull out the case from the archives and discuss it,” Lacson told radio dzBB, stressing that any revival would still undergo debate and a majority vote in the Senate.
On August 6, the Senate voted 19-4-1 to archive the impeachment complaint following the SC’s unanimous ruling. Lacson, who abstained, clarified that his decision was not an act of “playing safe” but a sign of respect for the pending motion for reconsideration filed by the House through the Solicitor General.
He noted that the high court’s move to require Duterte to comment on the appeal—rather than dismiss it outright—suggested that the motion was being seriously reviewed. “It’s not every day that the high court will order a party to comment on its unanimous decision,” he said.
Lacson argued that the Senate should have waited for the SC’s final decision instead of archiving the case prematurely. “By not acting, we are not opposing the Supreme Court’s order,” he explained.
The SC ruling has drawn strong criticism from legal experts and lawmakers, who warn that its introduction of seven new procedural requirements for impeachment could erode accountability. Veteran lawyer Antonio Bucoy described the decision as turning impeachment into “passing through the eye of the needle,” while the Makabayan bloc argued it “encroaches upon powers exclusively vested in the legislative.”
The University of the Philippines College of Law faculty likewise stressed that impeachment is designed to protect the public and ensure accountability, not to litigate an impeachable officer’s rights in the same way as an administrative case.
