Senator Ping Lacson assured that if the Supreme Court reverses its decision on the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, he will lead the motion to pull the impeachment complaint out of the Senate archive and have it referred back to the impeachment court.
It will be recalled that Lacson was the only one who abstained from voting to archive the articles of impeachment against Duterte.
According to the senator, aside from him, Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto may also join in filing a motion to retrieve the case from the archive and have it discussed again.
Lacson further explained that although it is better to archive the articles of impeachment than to completely dismiss them, the process will still be complicated if the Supreme Court changes its stance and allows the impeachment trial to proceed.
He clarified that in the case of archiving, a new motion is needed in the plenary to bring the case out of the archive, which will be subject to debates and a vote.
Based on his observation, there is strong opposition from the majority regarding moving forward with the trial, so it is possible that it will not be revived.
He added that it is clear that a majority vote in the plenary is required for the motion to pass, and five votes, which typically apply only to committee hearings, will not be enough.
Senator Win Gatchalian had previously mentioned that there are two ways to bring the impeachment articles against VP Sara back to the Senate’s order of business.
According to the senator, this could happen either through a vote of five senators to pull the impeachment complaint out of the Senate archive or by suspending the rules through a majority vote of 13 senators.
Gatchalian explained that a motion would need to be filed to bring the impeachment case back to the plenary, followed by a vote. If at least five senators agree, the discussion on the case will resume.
However, the senator emphasized that this will still depend on the Supreme Court’s decision.
