The House of Representatives officially handed over the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate on Wednesday night, formally triggering the constitutional mechanism for a Senate trial.
The massive case file—comprising thousands of pages of documentary evidence, affidavits, and audit findings—was delivered at exactly 7:22 p.m. by House Secretary General Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil to Senate Secretary Mark Leandro Mendoza. The move follows a decisive 257-25 plenary vote in the House to impeach the Vice President.
Garafil emphasized that the delay between the vote and the physical transmittal was due to the technical necessity of organizing the voluminous records.
“The transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment marks the beginning of the next constitutional phase of the process, and the House Secretariat made sure that all records were complete and in proper order prior to submission.”
The charges against Duterte include the alleged misuse of confidential funds, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption. House leaders maintained that the meticulous preparation of the documents was essential to preserve the integrity of the proceedings, despite critics labeling the timeline as politically motivated.
“The accuracy of our submission is our paramount concern.”
With the records now in the hands of the upper chamber, the Senate is constitutionally mandated to convene as an impeachment court to determine the Vice President’s fitness to remain in office.