The clock has run out on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case. Despite overwhelming House support, a constitutional expert now says the case is doomed before it even reaches trial.
“If the impeachment case against Sara Duterte starts being heard on June 2, that case is already dead,” declared prominent election lawyer Romulo Macalintal in a weekend interview that has sent shockwaves through political circles.
The explosive allegations against Duterte – misusing confidential funds and threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez – initially gained tremendous momentum. With 215 lawmakers backing the February 5th complaint, it easily cleared the constitutional threshold for Senate trial.
But then, silence. The case stalled for months as Congress adjourned without forwarding the articles to the Senate.
“The present Senate no longer has time — its term ends by June 30,” Macalintal explained, pointing to a critical procedural roadblock that few had considered.
Senate Rule 44 states that all pending matters die when Congress adjourns. This means the new Senate that convenes after June 30 would need to restart the process – but here’s where it gets complicated.
“If the new Senate revives it, it would be considered as if it were presented for the first time,” Macalintal said. “But the Constitution explicitly prohibits filing more than one impeachment case against the same official within a year.”
This creates what Macalintal calls “a constitutional wall” that even the most determined lawmakers cannot scale.
Senate President Francis Escudero recently invited House prosecutors to present the articles on June 2, with plans to convene an impeachment court the following day. But Escudero himself previously described this timeline as “practically unworkable.”
Meanwhile, Duterte’s office confirmed receiving the Senate’s letter on May 19, but her camp remains strategic in their silence. Sources close to the Vice President told The Manila Times they’re focusing on constitutional defenses rather than political alliances.
As the June deadline approaches, what was once a political firestorm may fizzle out not from lack of support, but from simply running out of time.
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