Retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio says the Senate should waste no time starting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte if the Supreme Court (SC) changes its earlier ruling.
Carpio explained over the weekend that if the SC rules in favor of the House of Representatives’ request to reconsider the case, the Senate would be required to proceed automatically.
“No more extra voting is needed. If the SC says the impeachment is Constitutional, then the Constitution clearly says the Senate trial must begin right away,” Carpio said in a TV interview.
Why this matters
The SC previously ruled that the impeachment case against Duterte was unconstitutional and blocked it using the “one-year rule” — a rule that says you can’t file another impeachment case against the same official within a year.
After that ruling, the Senate voted to place the impeachment case in the archives:
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19 senators voted to archive it,
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4 voted against, and
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1 abstained (did not vote).
But history shows that archived cases can still return. For example, in the 15th Congress, a bill about synchronized elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was archived but later revived and passed into law.
What happens if SC changes its mind?
The House of Representatives is arguing that it has the exclusive right to prosecute impeachable officials, and that the Senate’s role is to try the case — not to block it.
If the SC agrees with the House:
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The impeachment case against Duterte would come back automatically.
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No senator would need to file a new motion to bring it back.
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The trial would “forthwith proceed,” as the Constitution states.
Carpio added that even if some senators try to block it, the House could ask the SC to order the Senate to follow the Constitution.
The case against Duterte
Three impeachment complaints were filed against Sara Duterte in December 2024. All accused her of misusing confidential funds.
Later, a fourth complaint, signed by more than one-third of House members, was officially sent to the Senate.
When the case reached her, Duterte pleaded “not guilty” and dismissed the impeachment complaint as nothing more than a “scrap of paper.”
