On 10 June 2025, the Philippine Senate convened in solemn ceremony to begin its role as an impeachment court, donning Oxford robes to signify their constitutional mandate as Senator-Judges. The occasion marked the formal receipt of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, transmitted by the House of Representatives. However, what unfolded in the hours that followed was a stunning abdication of constitutional duty and a revealing moment in the country’s political history.

Despite the clear directive of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which mandates that impeachment cases transmitted by the House must be tried by the Senate “forthwith,” or immediately, the Senate majority instead voted to remand the case back to the House, essentially halting the process before it could even begin. With 18 senators voting in favor and only five dissenting, the decision was carried through a simple raising of hands which is an act symbolic not of democracy at work, but of its quiet retreat.

This motion and its approval defied both legal precedent and constitutional intent. Rather than engage with the charges, examine the evidence, and allow due process to take its course, the Senate’s move sent a chilling message: that political convenience and allegiance trump accountability and the rule of law.

Far from acting as impartial arbiters, the majority of the Senate instead exposed themselves as political vassals of the Duterte family, lacking both the will and the intellectual rigor to fulfill their duties. In doing so, they may have permanently damaged the institutional credibility of the Senate as a check on executive power.

While the impeachment was ostensibly halted, the action speaks volumes about the composition and character of the upper chamber. Senators such as Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, and Imee Marcos are figures closely allied with the Dutertes. They epitomize the erosion of reasoned, independent thinking within the Senate. Though many senators hold legal credentials, it has become clear that the practice of law without logic, and argument without integrity, now characterizes much of the chamber’s proceedings.

Some may interpret this move as a strategic effort to delay. Others see it, more bleakly, as a blatant attempt to quash the impeachment case altogether, ensuring that no public scrutiny—much less conviction—would touch the Vice President. In reality, it is a dual betrayal: of the Constitution and of the people’s trust in democratic institutions.

Still, there is a silver lining to this debacle. The Senate’s action has removed all pretense and revealed the stark reality: that true justice for any alleged crimes committed by Vice President Duterte cannot and should not be entrusted to a Senate dominated by partisan actors. In this light, the impeachment trial’s collapse is not the end, but a necessary unveiling.

It is now incumbent upon the Supreme Court, and perhaps even international legal bodies, to ensure that constitutional norms are upheld and that public officials, no matter how powerful, are held accountable.

In the final analysis, what happened on June 10 was not merely a legislative maneuver but an act of constitutional sabotage, one that will be remembered as a moment when the Philippine Senate chose subservience over service, and convenience over courage.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Senate President Francis Escudero takes his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on June 9, 2025. The oathtaking, administered by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. (Public Domain)

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