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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
June 6, 2025 | 3:45pm
An undated file photo of Senator-elect Ping Lacson.
File
MANILA, Philippines — Senator-elect Ping Lacson said it is senseless to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, insisting the trial must continue into the 20th Congress.
The impeachment articles against Duterte were transmitted to the Senate in February, right before Congress went on break. Now, just when the impeachment trial was set to start, Senate President Francis Escudero further delayed the hearing. Talks of outright dismissing the impeachment have spread in the Senate, with Duterte ally Sen. Bato Dela Rosa drafting a resolution moving to dismiss the impeachment case.
Lacson, who will serve as a senator-judge if the impeachment case proceeds to the 20th Congress, rejected Dela Rosa’s proposal.
"There is no sense in the draft resolution calling for the de facto dismissal of the impeachment case against Vice President Duterte. Only the Senate as an impeachment court can render a decision on the matter, not the Senate as a legislative body, as the latter has no jurisdiction or legal authority to do so," Lacson said in a statement.
He echoed Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel’s point that the Senate’s role as a legislative body differs from its function as an impeachment court.
"For me, the best way forward is to let the impeachment trial cross over to the 20th Congress because it can no longer be done in the 19th Congress. Going further, the best way forward is to go into trial, to determine if there is a conviction or acquittal," he said in a media interview.
Many sitting senators have also agreed that the trial must continue.
Sen. JV Ejercito, staying impartial on Vice President Duterte’s guilt, said the Senate is constitutionally bound to proceed with the impeachment trial, whether they like it or not.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, known for his friendly ties with the Dutertes, also agreed that the Constitution mandates the Senate to conduct the impeachment trial, saying the Senate has no choice in the matter.
“The Constitution is very clear: ‘the trial follows forthwith.’ There are no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts' that were written there,” Cayetano told reporters.
