Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the Senate is standing by the provisions of the Constitution and rule of law when it voted in favor of heeding the Supreme Court’s decision on the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.
00:00I made these remarks, Mr. President, amidst recent calls for this August body to disregard the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Duterte v.H.O.R.
00:10These calls for judicial disobedience have been aided and abetted by so-called legal luminaries and experts
00:18who fancy their wisdom and knowledge of the Constitution as better, higher, more supreme than that of the Supreme Court.
00:26Are they a member of the Supremist Court? Are they a member of the Supersupreme Court?
00:32In my opinion, the Supreme Court is only one.
00:36And according to our Constitution, the Supreme Court is the most important thing that we can say about what's the importance of our judicial disobedience.
00:47There are no other things.
00:49I'll let you demonstrate, for example, Mr. President, the legal gymnastics these people have been undertaking.
00:56In the past, and I have borne the brunt of this, sabi nila, forthwith ang sinabi sa Senado, ibig sabihin yan, agad-agad,
01:05despite the rulings of the Supreme Court that say it is within a reasonable time.
01:10Pero dun na tayo sa agad-agad.
01:12Sabi ng rules ng House, dapat i-refer ng Secdian immediately sa Speaker.
01:18Dalawang buwan bago niya ginawa yun.
01:20Oh, okay lang sa kanila.
01:22Hindi naman silang nagreklamo.
01:24Immediately po ang gamit, ah.
01:25Hindi forthwith.
01:27Sabi naman ngayon ng Korte Suprema,
01:29immediately executory, I take ka lang.
01:33Hintayin muna natin.
01:34Hindi pa final.
01:36Kapag ka konbinyenteng gamitin yung mga salita, pabor sa posisyon nila,
01:40edo okay lang.
01:41Kapag ka hindi naman, ay hindi rin.
01:43Hindi po ganun dapat yun.
01:45Hinihiling nila ngayon sa Senado na ipagpaliban muna ang anumang aksyon para intayin
01:52ang anumang desisyon ito kaugnay sa motion for reconsideration na inihain
01:58ng Kamara sa Korte Suprema.
02:03Subalit tulad ng naipaliwalag na kanina kaugnay ng mosyon na pinagbabotohan natin ngayon.
02:08Kung magbago man ang Korte Suprema sa kanilang desisyon na unanimous noong July 25, 2025,
02:17meron pong paraan at proseso pa ang Senado para sundin ang bagong desisyon yan ng Korte Suprema
02:25kung sakasakaling mangyayari po yan.
02:29In the past, it was also said, nauna nagsalita si Senator Bato,
02:33bawal daw at walang karapatan mag-mosyon ang sino mang Sen. Judge
02:38dahil trabaho daw ng depensa yun.
02:42Eh bakit yung mga parehong tao yung pinag-uusapan?
02:45Dapat maghahin tayo ng motion for reconsideration.
02:47Hindi ba trabaho din ang prosecution yun?
02:51Hindi naman po pwede na pwede lang pag kayo, hindi na pwede pag iba.
02:57Now the prosecution has actually filed a motion for reconsideration, and rightfully so, and not by this chamber.
03:07Noon kapag bumoto kami para i-remand ang impeachment complaint sa Kamara,
03:15pinapaboran daw namin yung nasasakdal.
03:18Sinabi ko na rin yan, na yung kontra sa impeachment at pabor sa impeachment, hindi ko didinggin.
03:24Na yung kontra at pabor kay Vice President Sara Duterte, hindi ko didinggin.
03:29Dahil may rason kung bakit babaeng nakapiring ang mataang simbolo ng ating ustisya
03:34na humahawag ng spada sa kabilang kamay at panimbang sa kabilang kamay.
03:39Dahil wala po dapat kinikilala ang ustisya na personalidad.
03:43Sino man ang nasasakdal, dapat pareho lamang po ang ating mga magiging desisyon.
03:49Sabi din nila, will of the people daw ito.
03:54Eh sino ba si people?
03:56Balikan po natin ang naging desisyon ng Korte Suprema.
03:59Ayon sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema sa panunulat ni Justice Malcolm sa Alejandrino v. Manuel Quezon.
04:08Pinag-aaralan po ito ng mga first-year law students.
04:11Quote,
04:11The judiciary, under its powers to interpret the Constitution and the laws,
04:17has the duty and the right to declare what the will of the people is as expressed in the fundamental law of the land.
04:25Hence, where the acts of the executive or legislative departments violate the will of the people as expressed in the organic law of the land,
04:34It is the sworn duty of the judiciary to interpret and to declare that will of the people and the right of the citizen has been violated and or transgressed.
04:47Allow me to answer a few more, Mr. President, Your Honor.
04:51As I stated earlier,
04:53Sabi ng ilan, intayin natin na maresolbahan ang motion for reconsideration.
04:56Pero dun sa parehong araw na naghahayin ang motion for reconsideration ng Kamara,
05:01nagsalita ang tagapagsalita ng Korte Suprema at sinabing immediately executory pa rin ang desisyon.
05:07Sinait ko rin kanina ang Section 1, Rule 16, AM No. 10-4-20 ng Supreme Court
05:13na nagsasabi na ang resolusyon ay magiging executory lamang kapagka ito'y nagkaroon ng entry of judgment,
05:22maliba na lang kung sinabi sa desisyon na ito'y immediately executory na siyang nangyari sa kasong ito.
05:30Binanggit din kanina, ni Sen. Cayetano,
05:33ang Section 4, Rule 39 ng Rules of Court na nagsasabi na
05:36immediately executory ng mga desisyon ay hindi kailangan maghintay na maresolbahan
05:42anumang apela o motion for reconsideration na nakabimbin.
05:47Ginagamit din ang operative fact doctrine.
05:50Ang operative fact doctrine po ay eksepsyon sa rule ng null and void ab iniso.
05:59Ito po ay hindi rule, ito ay eksepsyon sa rule.
06:03Gamit po ang sinulat na desisyon ni Justice Tony Carpio sa League of Cities v. Comelec.
06:10Ito ang sinabi po niya.
06:12The invocation of the operative fact doctrine is an admission that the law or act is unconstitutional.
06:19Bago po natin sabihin, gamitin natin ito, aminin niyo muna, iligal at bawal ang ginawa ng Kamara.
06:27Sa parehong desisyon, sinabi din ni Justice Carpio,
06:30it will open the floodgates to wanton enactment of unconstitutional laws and the commission of unconstitutional acts
06:38and a mad rush for their immediate implementation before the court can declare them unconstitutional.
06:44This view, according to him, is an open invitation to serially violate the Constitution and be quick about it lest the violation be stopped by the court.
06:56Sinabi din po ni Justice Carpio sa desisyong Aralio v. Aquino,
07:01Those who acted in bad faith with gross negligence cannot invoke this doctrine.
07:08Hindi po pwedeng pakinabangan.
07:11Nung taong gumawa ng unconstitutional at illegal act, ang doktrinang ito,
07:16pwede lamang po itong gamitin na mga partidong walang kinalaman dun si ginawang mali, masama o dinahaayon sa saligang batas.
07:24Ika nga, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands, and he who seeks equity must likewise do equity.
07:36Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, kinundi na din ng ilang legal luminaries tulad ng Felconsa,
07:43na dating pinangunahan, nang nanguna sa impeachment complaint na si Speaker Romualdez, ilang taon lamang lumilipas,
07:50na hindi daw bagong requirement daw ang due process.
07:55Dagdag daw ito.
07:57Mr. President, Your Honors, they should read Francisco again.
08:03They forgot that lack of due process in the impeachment process had been raised,
08:07and in fact, was specifically mentioned in the separate concurring opinions.
08:13And allow me to quote the concurring opinion of Justice Panganiban.
08:16The due process clause enshrined in our fundamental law is a condition sine qua non
08:22that cannot be ignored in any proceeding, administrative, judicial, or otherwise.
08:26It is deemed written into every law, rule, or contract, even though not expressly stated therein.
08:32Hence, the House rules on impeachment,
08:35in so far as they do not provide the charged official with number one, notice,
08:42and number two, opportunity to be heard prior to being impeached, are also unconstitutional.
08:49Needless to say, the due process limitation on the impeachment process was already discussed in Francisco.
08:57May pumalag ba nun?
08:58Wala.
08:58Yung nagre-reklamo ba ngayon, kaugnay sa bagong requirement yung due process,
09:03nag-react, nung sinulat ito at naging bahagi ng Francisco ruling,
09:08hindi ko rin po napansin.
09:10Sinabi din po ng ilang legal luminari.
09:13Partikular, binanggit din ito ni Speaker Romualdez.
09:16When the court begins to create rules on how it and other high officials may be impeached,
09:22it risks writing the terms of its own immunity.
09:25This point was also discussed in Francisco.
09:30Ang sabi ng korte nito, illogical ito at non-secretor.
09:34Alalahanin po natin.
09:36Hula lamang yung gagamitin din ito pabor sa kanila.
09:39Sa kaso ng Francisco, nakaupong chief justice ang nasasakdal.
09:44Pero sinabi mismo ng korte, hindi balayan, hindi namin pinapaboran ang kabaro namin sa pagbaba namin ng disisyong ito.
09:53Mr. President, the Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances, not a system of retribution.
10:00Threatening the Supreme Court with impeachment simply because one disagrees with the ruling
10:04is a dangerous assault on our constitutional order.
10:08The Senate, Mr. President, stands ready to uphold the integrity of the Constitution as well as the institutions created under it.
10:18My dear colleagues, we are told that to honor the court's ruling is to betray the truth.
10:22That by choosing fidelity to the law, we somehow abandon accountability.
10:27But nothing for me could be further from the truth.
10:29To disregard, the ruling would not only defy the Constitution, it would drag the nation into a crisis it can ill-afford.
10:39It would erode the authority of our laws, embolden those who believe they are above it because they know it all or simply know better.
10:49To those seeking to disregard the Supreme Court's decision, I ask these simple questions, Mr. President.
10:54Again, in light of the Francisco ruling on former Chief Justice Davide, and it was okay then because they refused,
11:02they did not want then Chief Justice Davide to be impeached.
11:06Are you truly for accountability or simply anti-Duterte?
11:11Do you truly respect and want to preserve the Constitution or you simply hate the Vice President?
11:17Are you serving the nation's interests or protecting and pursuing your own personal ambitions or agenda?
11:23Are you fighting for truth or are you simply after revenge?
11:29Do you really want a trial or do you just want a conviction?
11:33Do you really believe that we are wrong or do you simply think and feel entitled and believe that you are always right?
11:42Remove the name, Mr. President, of the Vice President in this case.
11:48Apply the decision of the High Court, as Senator Cayetano said earlier, to another impeachable official.
11:53Would our positions, would your positions be the same?
11:58When I was faced with this situation, Mr. President, I respected the court's decision, even if I disagreed with it.
12:04I am still voting to respect that court's decision.
12:07As quoted at the start of my speech, Mr. President, the dispensation of justice over the course of time should be unaffected whomsoever stood to benefit or suffer therefrom.
12:21The courts should be unafraid of whatever imputations or speculations could be made against it by those disagreeing.
12:29I will not cast a vote that says complying with the Supreme Court ruling is optional.
12:36Anyone who will say, I will respect the Supreme Court today and condemn it tomorrow, is not showing fidelity to the Constitution.
12:44It is submission to the passions of the day, to the shifting winds of public sentiment that may or may not be just.
12:53Fidelity to the Constitution, Mr. President, must prevail even when it is unpopular, inconvenient, or misunderstood.
13:02In fact, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it must prevail, especially when it is unpopular, when it is inconvenient, and misunderstood.
13:13Finally, Mr. President, let today's verdict be a stern and unequivocal warning to anyone who would dare use the Senate for their personal battering ram to further their personal political ambitions.
13:26To the House of Representatives, I say, do not allow yourselves to be used for the blind hatred and ambition of a few who did things haphazardly, gravely abused their discretion,
13:38and violated due process rights under the Constitution as found by the High Court itself.
13:44In spite of all these, you expect everyone to roll over in obedience.
13:50When we did not, you moved hell and high water to destroy personalities, malign reputations, and tarnish institutions.
14:00To these people, I say this.
14:02The Senate is not your playground to run after your political enemies.
14:06We are not an accomplice in any grand scheme.
14:11While others may be willing to play your game, I am not.
14:14I will never bow to a mob.
14:16I will never cower to the shrillest of voices.
14:20Let history, Mr. President, record that in this moment, we chose the Constitution.
14:26We chose the rule of law by defending the integrity of the Supreme Court and maintaining the system of checks and balances under our Republican system of government.
14:35Let this chamber be remembered, not for the passions we inflamed, but for the principles we upheld.
14:41I vote yes to the motion, Mr. President.
14:44I vote yes to the rule of law, yes to the Constitution, yes to the supremacy of the Supreme Court in interpreting it.
14:52I vote no longer.
14:54I vote yes to the Libertadores.
14:56The rule of law rule movement and eso es philosophers.
15:01detained a lot of the Supreme Court as it was kept in theRE
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