Senator Raffy Tulfo stood firm on his vote to archive the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, emphasizing that the Senate never had proper jurisdiction to act on the complaint in the first place.
During the 6th regular session of the 20th Congress on Wednesday, Tulfo said his decision aligned with the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling declaring the impeachment complaint unconstitutional. “I believe the decision is clear — no impeachment court was validly convened. That’s why I voted yes,” he explained.
Tulfo further pointed out that shelving the case was necessary to prevent a potential constitutional crisis and to maintain the proper balance of power between the legislative and judicial branches.
“In the first place, per the decision of the Supreme Court, sinasabi na wala naman talaga tayong jurisdiction over dito sa articles of impeachment,” he said. “Mas maganda siguro i-dissolve na lang natin ‘to para we’re still in line with what the Supreme Court said.”
The Senate ultimately voted to archive the complaint, following the Supreme Court’s invocation of the “one-year bar rule,” which prohibits multiple impeachment attempts against the same official within a year. This development effectively halts any impeachment proceedings against Duterte until February 2026.
