MANILA – Deputy Senate Majority Leader Rodante Marcoleta moved to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing the Supreme Court’s July 25 ruling that declared the complaint unconstitutional and void from the beginning.

In a privilege speech during the Senate session, Marcoleta emphasized that the decision was “immediately executory” and that the Senate “did not acquire jurisdiction” over the case.

“The Supreme Court has already spoken. The last arbiter of law, it says the complaint is unconstitutional, is void ab initio, is violative of due process. The Senate never acquired jurisdiction over this. It is immediately executory,” he said.

Marcoleta also asserted that the impeachment proceedings from the 19th Congress were not formally carried over to the current 20th Congress.

“I cannot recall of any action so far taken by this august Chamber to the effect that the initial impeachment proceedings, which were deemed to have been terminated at the expiration of the 19th Congress at noon of June 30, 2025, have been miraculously brought to life into the present Congress,” he said.

According to Marcoleta, the Supreme Court’s decision did not tackle the merits of the complaint against Duterte but focused solely on the procedures adopted by the House of Representatives, including violations of the one-year bar on multiple impeachment complaints under Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution.

“No impeachment proceedings should be initiated against the same person more than twice within a period of one year. Ilan po ang impeachment complaints na ifinile ng House of Representatives? Apat po eh,” Marcoleta said, citing filings from December 2, 4, 19, and February 5.

He noted that the House archived the first three complaints without citing any basis in its internal rules and referred all four complaints simultaneously to the Speaker only on February 5, months after they were filed.

“‘Immediately’ po ba yan? Dec. 2, Dec. 4, Dec.19 at isinama ang Feb. 5, all of them were simultaneously referred to the Office of the Speaker on Feb. 5. Dalawang buwan po ang kanyang ginugol para lang i-refer to the Office of the Speaker. Ano po ang ‘immediate’ doon? Wala po,” he said.

Marcoleta also raised issues with how the complaints were handled in the House, stating they were not included in the Order of Business, which he said is required by the Constitution. He argued the complaints only appeared in the Journal, which is not a substitute for formal inclusion.

He criticized the verification of the complaint endorsed by more than one-third of the House members, saying the document lacked proper form and content required under the rules.

“Subscribed and verified before me, sabi po ng Secretary General, on this blank day of February 2025. Wala pa pong date eh. Ito po ba ang verification Mr. President? Hindi po,” he said, pointing to what he described as a flawed affidavit.

Quoting the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ official statement on the Supreme Court ruling, Marcoleta warned against undermining the judiciary: “To incite public repudiation of its authority, or even just to call for its outright defiance, erodes the very foundation of the legal order.”

He ended his speech by urging the chamber to respect the Court’s decision.

“You want to impeach the Vice President, do it in the right way. Hindi naman tinignan ang merito. Ang sinasabi yung proseso hindi po niyo sinunod eh,” he said. “On that note, Mr. President, I respectfully move that the impeachment complaint be dismissed.”