House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Thursday decried the Senate’s swift decision to archive the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a statement, Romualdez said the Senate's move to archive the case was, in effect, an attempt to "bury the Articles of Impeachment" even as the case remains active and pending before the Supreme Court.
"The Senate—not sitting as an impeachment court—moved swiftly to archive the complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, despite the case still pending before the Supreme Court," he said in a statement.
“To archive is, in effect, to bury the Articles of Impeachment. Yet the ruling of the Supreme Court is not final,” Romualdez added.
Romualdez noted that the Court has since asked Duterte and other respondents to comment on ten days, which is a sign that the case is far from over.
“On August 5, the House of Representatives filed a Motion for Reconsideration. The Court found our arguments serious enough to require the respondents, including the Vice President, to submit their comment. The case is active,” he emphasized.
The House Speaker also reminded the Senate and the public that the power to initiate impeachment lies solely with the House of Representatives.
Moreover, he explained that the House exercised that authority “lawfully, transparently, and in good faith — not out of spite, but out of duty. Not to attack, but to ask for answers — answers the Vice President never gave.”
Romualdez defended the legitimacy of the process, saying that more than one-third of House members signed the verified complaint.
"Under the Constitution, that triggered the automatic transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment. No referral to committee was needed. No further plenary action was required. The process was complete," he noted.
“This was never about political maneuvering. It was about accountability — pananagutan — anchored on verified facts and sworn documents,” Romualdez added.
He also pushed back against what he called “personal attacks and sweeping accusations” aimed at discrediting the lower chamber's constitutional duty.
“That’s not just unfair — it is dangerous. It undermines public trust in the very tools of democratic checks and balances,” he warned.
Calling out the Senate’s handling of the case, he emphasized that the real haste was not in filing the complaint, but in shelving it.
“Let’s be clear: The filing of the complaint was not rushed. What was rushed — remarkably — was its burial,” he affirmed.
Romualdez concluded with a pointed message that the House is not backing down, framing the impeachment move as a fight for constitutional integrity, not a clash between branches of government.
“We do not rise against the Senate. We rise for the Republic," the House Speaker said.
"Tuloy ang laban. For the Constitution. For the rule of law. And for the enduring truth that no public office is ever beyond the reach of accountability," he emphasized.
On August 6, the Senate voted to archive the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, with 19 senators in 19 affirmative votes, four negative votes, and one abstention.
