Sotto Clarifies: Senate Ready to Act on VP Sara Impeachment

Senate Stands Ready for Duterte Impeachment Trial, Sotto Confirms

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has reaffirmed the Senate’s constitutional obligation to convene as an impeachment court should the House of Representatives impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, contrary to false claims circulating online.

“Based on the Constitution, it’s automatic. That’s our job. No matter what others say, what matters is what the Constitution says: when Articles of Impeachment are received, we convene as an impeachment court,” Sotto stated in comments reported by Inquirer.net.

The clarification comes amid misleading videos posted on YouTube claiming that Sotto had “backed out” from convening the Senate as an impeachment court, effectively halting proceedings against the Vice President. These videos, which have garnered hundreds of thousands of views, feature thumbnails with text stating, “Ligwak si Sotto. Umatras na! Impeachment ni VP Sara hindi na matutuloy” (Sotto failed. He backed out! VP Sara’s impeachment won’t push through anymore).

Two channels in particular have been spreading this misinformation: “Philippines Trending News,” which has over 534,000 subscribers, and “Pinas News Insider,” with more than 1.2 million subscribers. Both channels have consistently published pro-Duterte content.

While Sotto confirmed that the Senate can convene almost immediately after receiving articles of impeachment, he emphasized that the actual trial would require significant preparation to ensure due process. “The trial proper will take some time because there are preparations. We will be sending the impeached official a copy of the Articles of Impeachment,” Sotto explained. “We will receive it after a number of days and we will ask the prosecution of the impeached official their response, and then we go into pre-trial. Then trial proper after everything is all set.”

Drawing on the Senate’s experience with the 2012 impeachment case against the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, Sotto indicated that the upper chamber would hold pre-trial proceedings first. He suggested that the Senate might conduct the trial proper by June.

The impeachment process against Vice President Duterte has already advanced significantly. On May 4, the House justice committee approved its report finalizing her impeachment case. According to committee chairperson Gerville Luistro, a plenary vote could take place as early as May 11.

Under Philippine law, the Senate can only convene as an impeachment court after at least one-third (106 members) of the House of Representatives approve the articles of impeachment. Should this threshold be reached, the process would move to the Senate for trial.

Duterte faces serious allegations, including misuse of public funds, amassing ill-gotten wealth, and making death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. These charges form the basis of the impeachment complaint currently making its way through the legislative process.

This isn’t the first instance of misinformation surrounding the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President. Fact-checking organizations have previously debunked several false claims involving Sotto and other public officials related to Duterte’s impeachment case.

As the political drama unfolds, the spread of misinformation highlights the contentious nature of the proceedings and the polarized political environment in the Philippines. The impeachment case against Duterte represents a significant test for the country’s democratic institutions and constitutional processes.