Senate Rules Allow Revival of Impeachment Articles
MANILA, Philippines — It only takes a vote of five senators to pull the articles of impeachment from the archives and bring back the case against Vice President Sara Duterte, local leaders noted.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian explained this to the media on Friday, referring to the Senate rules that govern such proceedings. He emphasized that the five senators can revive impeachment articles by following specific procedures.
Before voting to archive the case, Gatchalian reviewed the Senate’s guidelines. “Under our rules, with a vote of five senators, the impeachment can be brought back and placed in the order of business. So that could be the mechanism. I reviewed the rules before we voted. There is a mechanism under the rules to pull out the article of impeachment and include it in the order of business,” he said.
Two Methods to Retrieve Impeachment Articles
Aside from the vote of five senators, there is another way to revive the impeachment case. A majority vote can suspend the Senate rules, allowing the chamber to vote and return the articles of impeachment to the agenda.
“The other mode is by a vote of majority, we can suspend the rules. And then when we suspend the rules, we can vote to bring back the articles of impeachment and put it back to the order of business. So there are two modes to approach that,” Gatchalian added.
He noted that the five-senator vote applies if the Supreme Court reverses its earlier ruling and upholds the House of Representatives’ motion for reconsideration. To initiate the process, a senator must file a motion based on either method.
“Somebody has to file a motion, and then there are two modes. One of them is that five senators — one can file the motion, and the five can manifest their intention to retrieve the articles of impeachment from the archives and include them in the order of business. Once it’s in the order of business, it proceeds from there. The other option is to suspend the rules. One senator can move to suspend the rules, and then a majority vote can suspend the rules and retrieve the articles of impeachment from the archives,” he explained.
Supreme Court’s Role and Constitutional Boundaries
Gatchalian stressed that it was the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively ended the impeachment against Duterte, not the Senate. “We have to make that distinction. We have to make that distinction that it’s the Supreme Court ruling that voided these articles of impeachment. So the Senate is dutifully bound,” he said.
He warned that if the Senate defies the high court’s decision, it could trigger a constitutional crisis. The Senate’s respect for the judiciary’s decision remains crucial in maintaining the balance of power.
Current Status of the Impeachment Case
On August 6, the Senate voted 19-4, with one abstention, to archive the impeachment case against Vice President Duterte. Archiving means setting aside the case and removing it from the chamber’s active records, pending any future action by the majority.
The four senators who opposed archiving were Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, and Sen. Bam Aquino. Sen. Ping Lacson abstained from voting on the motion.
This move places the impeachment articles in a dormant state but leaves room for possible revival through the mechanisms explained by Gatchalian.
For more news and updates on impeachment revival, visit Filipinokami.com.
