MANILA- Minority lawmakers in both houses of Congress have condemned the Philippine Senate’s decision to archive the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the move effectively kills the case without the benefit of a formal trial.

In a joint statement, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co of the Makabayan Bloc slammed the 19-4-1 vote that led to the case’s shelving.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the Senate’s decision to ‘archive’ the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte,” the lawmakers said. “Archiving is nothing but a shameless attempt to kill the case while claiming they ‘never had jurisdiction’ in the first place. Kung hindi naman pala nila hawak, paano mo a-archive?”

They further criticized the Senate majority for shielding the Vice President from scrutiny over the P612.5 million in confidential funds flagged by auditors, which remain unexplained.

“The Senate wants to spare itself from the optics of openly junking the case, yet the result is the same: the Filipino people are denied accountability for the still-unexplained P612.5 million in confidential funds,” the statement added.

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno also voiced concern, urging the Senate to wait for a final ruling from the Supreme Court before making a move.

“It would have been more prudent for the Senate to wait for the ruling of the Supreme Court on the motion for reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives,” Diokno said. “Instead, the Senate hammered another nail on the coffin of accountability — anupamang itawag d’yan, to dismiss, archive, o sa salita ng isa mismong Senador, kill the Articles of Impeachment.”

“We reiterate our call for the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. Even the highest officials must be held accountable for wrongdoings against the Filipino people,” he added.

Leila de Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal Party-list rejected Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s remarks dismissing the House-prepared complaint as “undercooked.”

“Hindi hilaw ang impeachment case. At lalong hindi hilaw ang paninindigan natin na ituloy ang paglilitis sa ngalan ng katotohanan at pananagutan,” De Lima said.

In the upper chamber, minority senators also expressed dismay over the decision, arguing that the move undermines the constitutional mandate of the Senate as the sole body to try impeachment cases.

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan argued that the Supreme Court’s decision was not yet final and thus did not warrant the premature shelving of the complaint.

“Unang-una, ang boto na ‘no’ ay hindi nangangahulugan na hindi natin nirerespeto ang pasya o kapangyarihan ng Korte Suprema, lalong lalo na hindi pa ito pinal,” Pangilinan explained. “Kung tutuusin, kung hinintay lang natin ang final decision, hindi tayo nagpasya at wala tayong ginawa na mga hakbang out of respect dahil nga pending pa, wala tayong nilabag sa pagiging immediately executory ng desisyon.”

“Kaya kataka-taka kung bakit kailangan magkaroon ng archiving pero pasya ito ng mayorya,” he added.

Senator Bam Aquino echoed these concerns, warning against weakening the Senate’s independence in handling impeachment matters.

“I vote to assert the independence of the Senate on matters of impeachment,” Aquino said during the session.

“Ang impeachment ay mekanismo para protektahan ang interes ng taumbayan. Ang Senado ay nagsisilbing check and balance sa ating demokrasya,” he added. “Ayon sa Constitution, ang Senado ay independent, co-equal branch of government, at nasa Senado ang sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.”

The Senate’s decision followed an earlier motion by Senator Rodante Marcoleta — a known Duterte ally — to dismiss the complaint outright. After facing opposition, he agreed to reclassify the motion as “archiving.”

Marcoleta ultimately prevailed, with 19 senators voting to archive the complaint, 4 voting against it, and one abstaining.

📷 Senate of the Philippines