With 19 affirmative votes, 4 negative votes, and one abstention, the Senate moved to transfer the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to their archives.
On Wednesday evening, August 6, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero declared the impeachment complaint against the Vice President as “null and void ab initio,” stating that the Senate did not acquire jurisdiction over the case.
Nineteen senators voted in favor of Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva’s motion to archive the impeachment complaint. They are:
- Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano
- Sen. Pia Cayetano
- Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
- Sen. JV Ejercito
- Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero
- Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
- Sen. Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian
- Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go
- Sen. Lito Lapid
- Sen. Loren Legarda
- Sen. Rodante Marcoleta
- Sen. Imee Marcos
- Sen. Robin Padilla
- Sen. Erwin Tulfo
- Sen. Raffy Tulfo
- Sen. Joel Villanueva
- Sen. Camille Villar
- Sen. Mark Villar
- Sen. Miguel “Migz” Zubiri
In contrast, the four senators who opposed the motion are:
- Sen. Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV
- Sen. Risa Hontiveros
- Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
- Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson abstained from voting, expressing his willingness to wait for the final ruling of the Supreme Court (SC).
Villanueva earlier moved to archive the impeachment complaint against VP Duterte, stating the SC’s July 25th decision to declare the complaint unconstitutional.
Despite this, Escudero clarified that the Senate could bring the impeachment case out of the archives if the SC reverses its decision.
“If the Supreme Court reverses itself, however possible or impossible that may be, then we will entertain a motion to bring it out of the archives and act accordingly again in obedience to the Supreme Court decision,” Escudero explained.
