Law prof to senator-judges: Be impartial, have delicadeza

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

TRIAL NOW. Various organizations press for the immediate start of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte outside the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on June 9, 2025. It will be up to the 20th Congress to try the case as the 19th Congress adjourned June 11 with the Articles of Impeachment returned to the House of Representatives. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – A constitutional law professor said senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should be impartial.

Lawyer Jennifer Arlene Reyes said members of the impeachment court must remember that they are serving the interests of the Filipino people, not of an ally or a partymate.

“Since the constitution expressly provides that they, as the sole judges of the impeachment case, must try and decide this proceeding, then we cannot do anything but to hope that they will let their conscience and political will [prevail] and not their biases and alliances,” she said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City. “To put it bluntly, dapat mahiya sila sa taong bayan. Dapat ang pa-iralin nila ay ang loyalty nila sa constitution dahil ang constitution ay ang sambayanang Pilipino (they must feel shame. Their loyalty should be with the constitution because the constitution is the Filipino people).”

“They should always be reminded that they are the senators of the Filipino people and not of a particular public official or a particular individual,” she added.

Senator-judges must also show the electorate that they represent them, Reyes said.

“They are the representatives of the people.

They must always prove to the Filipino people that they deserve the votes of the populace. You are the senator-judge but you manifestly show partiality or bias,” she said.

She challenged senators to practice delicadeza (propriety or ethical conduct) by inhibiting from the trial.

“Delicadeza is free. I appeal to them if they still have delicadeza and they still respect the Filipino people, stop being partial or at least have the decency to inhibit themselves from this proceeding,” she added.

The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 18–5 on Tuesday night to return the Articles of iImpeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives, rejecting calls for outright dismissal while leaving the case technically alive for further action.

The motion, introduced by Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, was presented as a compromise to preserve constitutional integrity without prematurely terminating the case.

Despite the return of the articles, the court issued a formal writ of summons to the Vice President, ordering her to respond to the charges outlined in Article I of the complaint.

The summons, served by the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and received by the Office of the Vice President on June 11, mandates Duterte to respond within three days of receipt.