MANILA – Antonio Tinio of the House Minority bloc alleged that Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies played a key role in the sudden change of leadership in the Senate that occurred while the House of Representatives was voting on impeachment complaints against her.

In a report, Tinio said the removal of then Senate President Vicente Sotto III took place during the House voting, which resulted in 257 affirmative votes—well above the 106 votes required to transmit the impeachment case to the Senate for trial.

Before his ouster, Sotto had committed that the Senate would “forthwith” proceed with the impeachment trial once the Articles of Impeachment were received.

“Definitely, may role ang VP dito at ang kampo ng mga Duterte dahil sila ang pangunahing makikinabang dito,” Tinio said in a press conference.

“Deklarado naman iyong iba na ang core ng kudeta ay iyong Duterte bloc,” he added.

Tinio pointed to several developments he said were indicative of coordinated political moves, including Duterte’s earlier declaration that she intends to run for president in 2028, statements from PDP members that they would not support lawmakers voting for impeachment, and the sudden reappearance of Senator Ronald dela Rosa after months of absence.

“Mapagtatahi-tahi mo naman eh. Iyong biglang lumantad si Senator Bato, malinaw ang timing nito. Malinaw na may kaugnayan ito sa impeachment,” he said.

However, newly elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano denied that the leadership change was linked to the impeachment case, saying the Senate would proceed with trial “forthwith” once the House transmits the Articles of Impeachment.

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on Wednesday evening amid heightened tensions following a lockdown triggered by developments involving Dela Rosa, who is reportedly under protective custody in connection with an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

The impeachment complaint against Duterte includes allegations of systematic misuse and misappropriation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million from the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million from the Department of Education during her time as Education Secretary, among others.

It also accuses her of unexplained wealth, failure to properly disclose assets in her SALNs from 2022 to 2024, continued business interests while in office, alleged inducement of DepEd officials through monetary gifts, and alleged grave threats involving the contracting of assassination attempts against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The Constitution provides that once impeachment articles are filed by at least one-third of House members, “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”