MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has cautioned that any attempt to terminate the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Senate trial begins would be unconstitutional.
Speaking in an interview, Pimentel emphasized that senators are constitutionally mandated to conduct an impeachment trial once the House transmits the Articles of Impeachment.
He warned against any shortcut that seeks to bypass that responsibility.
“That’s absolutely wrong,” Pimentel said in Filipino. “We’re a legislative body, but we’re also bound to act as a court. There is a constitutional order for us to proceed with a trial. We cannot simply wash our hands and dismiss the case because it’s convenient.”
Pimentel’s remarks came after Senator Robin Padilla filed Senate Resolution No. 1371, which seeks to declare the impeachment proceedings terminated due to the short window of session days before Congress adjourns sine die on June 13.
But Pimentel rejected the resolution as both “procedurally and constitutionally flawed,” arguing that any move to end the proceedings prematurely must be raised in the impeachment court itself—not outside of it.
“If that’s raised, the first question I’ll ask is whether the process is correct. That issue belongs in court. And the answer is: it’s unconstitutional,” Pimentel stressed.
He reaffirmed that the Senate, once acting as an impeachment court, must fulfill its duty. “We are mandated to conduct the trial. We must follow the Constitution,” he said.
His statement came just hours before the Senate was set to hold its formal oath-taking for senator-judges.
Pimentel also confirmed that the Committee on Rules, chaired by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, would be reporting out the referral of the impeachment case to comply with procedural rules.
“There’s a commitment that the committee will report out today, then we proceed with the oath-taking,” he said.
Under Senate rules, the Articles of Impeachment are set to be read on June 11, with a summons to be issued to Vice President Duterte.
She will then have 10 days to respond, followed by five days for the House prosecutors to submit their reply.
“All matters related to the impeachment must be raised in court,” Pimentel noted. “And under our rules, everything is time-bound—only two minutes per issue, no repetition. Eventually, we will vote on it.”