Several Facebook (FB) posts claim that Vice President Sara Duterte has not been impeached because the Senate has yet to issue a verdict on her case, and that her trial cannot proceed after the midterm elections. This needs context.
Duterte was already “impeached” after more than one-thirds of the House of Representatives signed the verified impeachment complaint against her. It is the Senate’s decision to acquit or convict the vice president when it convenes as an impeachment court.
Moreover, while the current 19th Congress is set to adjourn on June 14, Senate President Francis Escudero said the vice president’s trial will be continued by the 20th Congress.
First published on Feb. 11, the post bore a photo of Duterte along with the caption:
“CLARIFICATION: VP SARA HAS NOT BEEN IMPEACHED! SA ISANG MALINAW NA PAG-USAP, HINDI PA NAIPAPATAPOS ANG PROSESO! Oo, inaprubahan ng Mababang Kapulungan (House of Representatives) ang impeachment complaint, PERO dadaan pa ito sa SENADO para sa trial. ➡️ Para ma-impeach si VP Sara, kailangan nilang makakuha ng 16 out of 23 votes sa SENADO!
(In a clear sense, the process is not yet over. Yes, the Lower House (House of Representatives) approved the impeachment complaint but this will go through the Senate for trial. To impeach VP Sara, they need to get 16 out of 23 votes in the Senate)!”
According to an impeachment primer released by the University of the Philippines College of Law, a public official is considered impeached if “Congress has found sufficient grounds to charge her so that she may be tried in the Senate.”
The existing Senate rules on impeachment also refer to a person who is the subject of an impeachment complaint as an impeached official.
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.
