A member of the House Prosecution Panel questioned the authority of the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, after it remanded the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.
San Juan City Lone District Representative Bel Zamora, one of the 12 members of the House Prosecution Panel, reiterated that the Senate's decision to remand the articles of impeachment “makes no sense,” especially since it had already issued a summons to the Vice President.
Zamora further explained that the issuance of the Senate's summons signifies that the impeachment proceedings are already underway, and that Duterte is now under its jurisdiction.
The lawmaker also clarified that they were merely preparing to file a motion to seek clarification on the actions of the upper chamber, emphasizing that this should not be construed as defiance against the Senate or the impeachment court.
"Again, they issued summons. So it does not make any sense that they will return the Articles of Impeachment. Ano po ‘yung i-a-attach nila sa summons? Syempre kailangan nilang isama ‘yung Articles doon sa summons kasi ‘yun po ang sasagutin ng ating Vice President," Zamora said during an ambush interview on Thursday.
Echoing the sentiments of other panel members, Zamora also believes that the Senate caused a delay in the ongoing impeachment process.
Despite the adjournment of the 19th Congress, the official affirmed that the impeachment process will proceed without the need for a special session.
"Let me put it this way, we saw the delay. We don’t know their personal reasons for delaying it. So I don’t want to think that there’s a huge malice behind it, but we all saw that there was delay," she added.
Zamora issued the statement following her appearance as the guest of honor—on behalf of House Speaker Martin Romualdez—at the 127th Independence Day rites at the Pinaglabanan Shrine.
House Speaker Romualdez did not attend the event for undisclosed reasons but conveyed a message of unity for the country's future.
Meanwhile, in a separate speech, Mayor Francis Zamora emphasized that there can be no freedom without struggle.
The monument is among the key sites of the celebration, recognized as the first battleground of the Katipunan revolution.
