SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA
PRIVILEGE SPEECH IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF VICE PRESIDENT SARA DUTERTE
June 10, 2025

Imagine a House, Mr. President.

An unfinished one, one that is still being built. Where do we begin? Of course, with solid foundations, a level ground, as well as an honest blueprint. Hindi pwede ang mga shortcut, hindi pwedeng madaliin. Kung babalewalain ng mga architects at mga engineers ang mga basic requirement, hindi magiging matibay ang itatayong bahay. Maaari itong magdulot ng panganib hindi lamang sa mga maninirahan dito kundi maging sa ibang mga kabahayan sa paligid nito.

If any of us happened to discover that the House we were living in was structurally unsound, we would likely scramble to have it retrofitted. We would probably file cases in anger against developers. I doubt any of us would simply shrug our shoulders, saying, "Andito na tayo eh. Hayaan na lang."

Now imagine a House...of Representatives, that built and filed the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte. Trabahong inupuan sa simula, at noong papalapit na ang deadline, biglang naging buzzer beater. Mabilisang pinasa sa atin, at ngayon tayo naman ang pinipilit at minamadali. Pinapagalitan pa nga. "That is your sworn duty. Tama na ang pamumulitika. This is undue delay."

Sandali. Bakit kaya sa pagkakataon at pangyayaring ito, tila madali lang para sa atin ang sabihing, "Andito na tayo eh. Andiyan na nga eh."?

Mr. President, the House of Representatives are of the belief that they have built a solid case against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte prompting them to file an impeachment case. But how sound are the foundations of this impeachment case filed against the vice president?

Kagaya po ng construction ng isang bahay, ang proseso ng impeachment ay kinakailangan na nakatungtong sa isang solidong pundasyon. Ibig sabihin, ang mga arkitekto na pasimuno nito ay may tungkulin na tiyakin na may tatayuan ang kanilang mga akusasyon.

Ngunit ang impeachment ay isang proseso na hindi nakasalalay lamang sa mga arkitekto o mga instigador nito. Sa totoo lang, pinakamadali ang naging gampanin ng HOR sa proseso ng impeachment. Iyon ay ang pagbubuo ng mga akusasyon. Mr. President, kahit sino po ay maaaring magparatang kung kanino man.

Sa bahagi naman po natin ang pinakamahirap--ang paghusga; ang paggawad ng isang hatol na makatarungan at katanggap-tanggap.

Ano man ang nakatungtong sa mahinang pundasyon ay laging may panganib na gumuho. Kung ang isang impeachment case ay mindali at nakasandig sa paghihiganti at pamumulitika ay maihahalintulad sa isang istrukturang itinayo sa gilid ng bangin.

Bagama't tungkulin o obligasyon natin sa Senado na mag-convene bilang impeachment court, responsibilidad din natin na maging mapanuri at kritikal sa impeachment complaint na ipinapasa rito sa ating bulwagan.

As I usher in my 6th year in the Senate, my 39th year in public service, Mr. President, I can say I have gotten better at spotting irony. What we refuse to let happen to our houses, we seem to have allowed our House of Representatives to do in broad daylight, right under our noses, and at the expense of our institution's esteemed reputation.

With this, Mr. President, my dear colleagues, allow me to express my serious concerns surrounding the constitutionally unsound foundation of the Articles of Impeachment that the Senate is set to tackle.

Article XI, Section 3 paragraph 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that:

"(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof, which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the proper Committee within three session days thereafter."

Keeping in mind the aforequoted constitutional provision, recall that on December 2, 2024, the first impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte was filed before the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. The second and third impeachment complaints were filed on December 4, 2024 and December 19, 2024, respectively. These complaints were each endorsed by members of the House of Representatives.

While the Constitution requires that a complaint for impeachment must be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, the House of Representatives' Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings require the Secretary General to immediately refer the complaints to the Speaker. Despite these, no action was ever taken by the House on the three impeachment complaints filed. Hindi po ito simpleng pagkalimot, Mr. President. Ito po ay tahasang pagsantabi ng kanilang internal rules at Constitutional provision. Sinadya po nila na balewalain ang Konstitusyon. Maliwanag po ito sa mga naging panayam kay House Secretary General Velasco.

In media interviews, the Secretary General publicly disclosed that the members of the majority of the House of Representatives asked him to withhold the transmittal of the impeachment complaints to the Speaker. Their goal then was to give themselves more time to decide whether or not to file another impeachment complaint. Pinaghintay po ng mayorya ng House of Representatives ang tatlong impeachment complaint. May ganyan po ba silang kapangyarihan? Tila ito po ay matatawag na grave abuse of discretion!

Then, on February 5, 2025, more than two months after the first impeachment complaint was filed, the House of Representatives took "the express, the fast track route" according to Secretary General Velasco. Kung ang tatlong naunang impeachment complaint ay pinadaan sa EDSA, mukhang sa Skyway po ang piniling landas ng House para sa pang-apat na impeachment complaint para maiuwi ito sa Senado.

With less than an hour before the close of session of that day, the House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate a verified complaint for impeachment against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, purportedly signed by 215 Members of the House of Representatives.

My honored colleagues, had the House complied with their own rules and the Constitution, the three previous impeachment complaints would have been referred to the appropriate Committee by the time the present impeachment complaint was filed and sponsored by the members of the House of Representatives. In other words, your Honors, the intentional inaction of the House of Representatives allowed its members to purportedly circumvent the one-year ban enshrined in Article XI, Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution.

Given the glaring circumvention of the Constitution, should we allow impeachment complaints which are Constitutionally-infirm to be heard and tried by this body? Kung defective po ang foundation ng impeachment complaint, mare-repair o mare-rehabilitate ba ito ng pag-convene ng impeachment court? Hindi po ba mawawalan ng saysay ang pagconvene ng Senate as an impeachment court kung malinaw na labag sa Konstitusyon ang nais nating itayo?

Kaya ang impeachment ay isang sensitibong proseso. Sa pagsampa pa lamang nito, binabato na agad ang akusado ng putik na kahit ma-acquit ay tila habambuhay nang nakamantsa sa kaniyang pagkatao. Pagkatapos ng impeachment, ano man ang maging hatol, the damage done to the reputation of the accused will forever be irreparable. He or she will never be the same again.

Some of the members of this august body may not agree with me and may take a different view as to whether the one-year ban has been violated by the House of Representatives. To settle this issue, the Separate Opinion of Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno in Francisco vs. House of Representatives provides this body a direction on the course of action that we may take when confronted with the same issue I laid down.

Former Chief Justice Puno said that before the Senate is convened as an Impeachment Court, the Senate, which has primary jurisdiction over the case, can already decide the question of whether the one-year ban has been violated or not, which is why insisting ako na ma-deliver ito before we convene as an impeachment court.

Hindi po natin kailangang hintaying magbagong anyo ang Senado at maging isang ganap na impeachment court. Ngayon pa lamang ay maaari na nating pagdesisyunan ito. Sumunod ba sa saligang batas at sa internal rules ng Mababang Kapulungan ang impeachment complaint na kanilang ipinasa dito sa Senado?

Nasa Senado po ang pagkakataon upang magwasto. Kung minadali ng HOR ang impeachment complaint, bakit kailangan natin itong tumbasan ng kaparehong kawalang pagpapahalaga sa tamang proseso. Madalas po natin sabihin dito sa ating kapulungan: "We are men, and women of rules." Manatili po tayong ganoon. Malayo mula sa mga ingay at impluwensiya ng kung sino mang may mga personal na interes at pakinabang sa pagmamadaling ipinipilit sa atin.

Mr. President, the inaction of the House of Representatives resulted not only in a possible violation of the Constitution, but in another justiciable controversy.

It is worthy to note that each new Congress, empowered by a fresh electoral mandate in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, is not bound by the legislative actions of its predecessors. Hindi po natin maaaring pilitin ang mga papalit sa atin sa future Congresses na ipagpatuloy ang anumang ating nasimulan. Sabi nga po ni President Chiz Escudero kahapon, the Congress cannot pass an irrepealable law. Lahat ay pwede baguhin at galawin ng mga susunod na mahahalal sa Kongreso. Maaari rin pong hindi sila gumalaw at hayaan lamang na nakatiwangwang ang anumang proceeding na sinimulan ng mga nauna.

When the 4th impeachment complaint was submitted, the 19th Congress was teetering on the brink of a long slumber. The Senate is now being urged to convene with only two session days, twenty days remaining before the 19th Congress closes. Hindi man po ako abogado, alam ko pong walang kaso, mapa-civil, administrative, o criminal, na dinidinig sa loob lamang ng isang buwan.

Naghihingalo na po ang buhay ng 19th Congress, bakit po natin ipipilit pa, kung ang pintuan ng 20th Congress ay malapit ng magbukas?

Malinaw naman po sa ating Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials. Kailangang i-summon ang person impeached para paharapin sa Senado. Kailangan din siyang bigyan ng sampung araw para mag-submit ng kanyang Answer, limang araw naman ang ibinibigay sa mga prosecutor para mag-file ng kanilang Reply.

Kaya po kahit mag-convene ng impeachment court bukas, summon at pagtanggap lamang sa pleadings ang kayang magawa ng 19th Congress. Sigurado na po tayo na ang trial, kasama ang pagpepresenta ng ebidensya, ay magaganap sa 20th Congress, kung saan bago na po ang composition ng Senado at Mababang Kapulungan.

Because of the change in members, questions are being raised on the jurisdiction of the 20th Congress to carry on with an impeachment trial commenced in the previous Congress. Should the 19th Congress convene an impeachment court, what assurance exists that the 20th Congress would continue the trial? Without such assurance, any efforts by the 19th Congress would constitute a significant waste of government resources.

Even the authority of the House of Representatives to continue prosecuting is being questioned since the said complaint was filed by a House of a different composition. In fact, some of those who signed the complaint failed to secure a seat in Congress in the recently concluded elections. Mukhang kailangan po natin ng positive act from the 20th Congress House of Representatives na kanilang itutuloy ang impeachment complaint na ginawa ng 19th Congress House of Representatives.

Mr. President, the constitutionally-given power and mandate of the Senate to try and decide all cases of impeachment is an immense responsibility that must be exercised in good faith, with sincere intention to fulfill a solemn oath, not with haste but with careful circumspection, mindful of both the political and legal nature of the exercise.

Ang impeachment ay isang proseso na hindi lamang mag-aalis sa puwesto ng isang mataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan. Ito ay isang armas laban sa sino man na hindi umaayon sa kagustuhan at mga interes ng mga kaaway sa pulitika. Ito ay apoy na hindi lamang nakapapaso kundi may kakayahan na tupukin at sunugin hindi lamang ang isang bahay kundi isang buong komunidad.

Mapanganib ang impeachment sa kamay ng mga mapagsamantala. Inilagay ang impeachment para protektahan ang taumbayan, hindi isakdal at hiyain ang kumakatawan sa kanila.

In the 2012 case of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona vs. Senate of the Philippines, the Supreme Court declared:

Impeachment, described as "the most formidable weapon in the arsenal of democracy," was foreseen as creating divisions, partialities and enmities, or highlighting pre-existing factions with the greatest danger that "the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt."

The House of Representatives, in transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate at the last hour, and after refusing to act for over two months on three previously filed complaints pending with the House Secretary General, has instead placed the Senate in a tight and impaired position, where any decision, action, or inaction on its part will be put into question. An acquittal, conviction, or even the propriety of proceeding with trial will be hounded not only by legal or constitutional questions but by accusations of extreme bias, partiality, and lack of sufficient deliberation.

Lagi kong sinasabi, Mr. President, hindi ako abogado. Nevertheless, this cannot disqualify me from speaking against possible constitutional blunders.

Hindi kailangan maging engineer para masabi ng isang tao na unliveable at hindi ligtas ang isang bahay o building. Alam niyo, alam natin, kung kailan matibay at pulido ang pagkakagawa, katulad ng isang Bahay na Bato. Alam din natin kung kailan hindi. When the floor starts to crack, when walls begin to shift, and when leaks appear where there should be none --- there and then, Mr. President. There and then, forthwith, we say: this was not built well.

Gayundin sana sa impeachment case na ito. The cracks and holes have begun to show. Alam nating may mga tanong na hindi pa nasasagot, lalo na patungkol sa Constitutional soundness ng nasabing impeachment complaint. It is my humble opinion, then, Mr. President, that with this knowledge must come swift and intelligent action.

Kung gaano natin kabilis i-condemn at ipagiba ang mga istrakturang hindi ginawa nang maayos, ganoon din dapat tayo kabilis umaksyon kung ang nalalagay sa alanganin ay ang ating Konstitusyon.

In the spirit of true action, therefore, allow me to end by moving.

I respectfully move that, in view of its Constitutional infirmities and question on the jurisdiction and authority of the 20th Congress, the verified impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte be dismissed.

Mr. President, since I have still the floor, I would like to call Senator Bong Go, Mr. President.