A near-physical confrontation erupted in the Senate on Tuesday, June 10 between Senator Robinhoon "Robin" Padilla and Senator Joel Villanueva following a heated disagreement over the motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The incident occurred shortly before the Senate formally convened as an impeachment court.
Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the impeachment complaint, prompting immediate objection from Villanueva.
This sparked a tense exchange, culminating in Padilla confronting Villanueva in the plenary session.
“Oh ano?,” said Padilla to Villanueva.
Senate colleagues, including Senator Nancy Binay and Dela Rosa, were stepping in to defuse the confrontation.
While Senator Alan Peter Cayetano attempted to ease tensions by calling the incident a "misunderstanding."
The verbal scuffle temporarily suspended the session, allowing senators to talk in private.
Upon resumption, Dela Rosa proceeded with his privilege speech, arguing that the impeachment complaint was "constitutionally impaired," citing alleged procedural lapses by the House of Representatives.
He criticized the last-minute transmission of the complaint, claiming the Senate had insufficient time to thoroughly consider it.
Dela Rosa asserted that he had made the privilege speech a condition for his agreement to the oath-taking schedule.
“It was cleared yesterday that we agreed that before I take my oath as a member of the impeachment court, I shall have delivered my privilege speech. That’s why I made it a precondition to my approval or to my agreement to the motion yesterday provided let me first deprived my privilege speech. Very clear it was agreed by the Minority leader,” Dela Rosa stressed.
“This is a privilege speech, not a privilege motion. My motion is to proceed with the oath-taking, as agreed upon yesterday,” Senator Koko Pimentel countered, reminding the chamber.
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go agreed with Bato's motion, while Senator Risa Hontiveros opposed it, insisting that the senator-judges should take their oath first, as agreed upon on Monday.
"Naniniwala ako na hindi tayo pwedeng kumilos unilaterally sa dismissal ng impeachment complaint nang hindi pa natin naririnig kahit isang salita mula sa prosecution at ni isang salita mula sa defense tungkol doon sa ‘constitutional infirmity," Hontiveros stated.
Villanueva maintained that only the impeachment court has the authority to rule on such motions, emphasizing due process and adherence to agreed-upon procedures.
In a gesture of reconciliation, Senator Padilla later approached Senator Villanueva to personally apologize, offering a handshake and a brief embrace.
Despite the initial drama, the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18-5 to return the articles of impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives, opting not to dismiss the case outright but to seek clarification on several key issues of the impeachment complaints.
