Akbayan hits Senate’s move to send back Duterte case to Congress

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THE progressive alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Central Visayas on Wednesday, June 11, condemned the Senate’s decision to return the impeachment articles against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.

Bayan-Central Visayas Chairperson Jaime Paglinawan criticized the move, calling it an effort to protect Duterte from accountability and a “betrayal of the people.”

Paglinawan said the move “shamelessly shields Sara Duterte from impeachment” and accused the 18 senators who voted in favor of the remand of “rejecting their constitutional duty.”

“For four months, the Senate leadership, led by Senate President Chiz Escudero, has delayed the impeachment process after receiving the Article of Impeachment forwarded by the Lower House," he said.

Paglinawan also took a swipe at Escudero’s leadership, saying it played a direct role in delaying justice.

"Escudero has employed various tactics to avoid convening the Senate as an impeachment court,” he added.

The group said the Senate, by rejecting its constitutional duty to hear and decide on the charges outlined in the impeachment complaint against Duterte, has effectively dismissed the case.

This move, the group added, deprived the public of their right to know how millions of pesos in confidential funds were allegedly squandered during Duterte’s tenure as Secretary of the Department of Education and as Vice President.

Paglinawan said Duterte was being protected despite serious questions surrounding her use of confidential funds, not only in the Office of the Vice President but also in DepEd.

He stressed that these were public funds allegedly misused without transparency, and criticized the Senate for choosing to shield Duterte instead of seeking the truth.

The progressive group added that the responsibility now lies in the hands of the people.

“We must continue to fight for truth and accountability, and demand answers for the misuse of public funds,” Paglinawan said.

The group is mobilizing for protests on June 12, Independence Day, calling on the public to “take the impeachment complaint to the streets.”

What the Senate did

On June 10, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18–5 to return the seven articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero insisted the move did not mean dismissal, noting that the Senate simultaneously issued a writ of summons to Duterte.

“She now has 10 calendar days to answer the charges from the time the summons is served,” Escudero said, explaining that procedural and constitutional questions prompted the Senate to remand the complaint.

Escudero emphasized that “remanding is not equivalent to dismissing,” and said it will be up to the next (20th) Congress to decide whether to proceed with trial or reintroduce the complaint if unresolved by June 30.

Five minority senators, including Risa Hontiveros, voted against the return, arguing that the impeachment court should have begun hearing the case immediately.(MyTVCebu)