Following a landmark vote on Monday, the House of Representatives has officially directed the transmission of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate, marking the beginning of a high-stakes trial.
The move was formalized during the plenary session when Iloilo 3rd District Representative Lorenz Defensor moved to endorse the impeachment resolution and its supporting annexes to the upper chamber.
“I further move that the Secretary General be directed to prepare and transmit the same to the Senate for appropriate action in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of the House,” Defensor stated.
Presiding officer and South Cotabato 2nd District Representative Ferdinand Hernandez approved the motion after it met no objections from the floor.
The transmission follows a historic second impeachment of the Vice President, characterized by an overwhelming majority that far exceeded the required 106 votes.
While the initial tally was announced as 255-26, Hernandez later corrected the official record to show an even wider margin of support for the move.
“The chair would like to manifest that I was informed by the secretariat of a correction in the result of the nominal voting on the House Resolution No. 989 that the body earlier adopted,” Hernandez told the plenary. “The correct result is as follows: Affirmative 257 instead of 255, negative 25 instead of 26, and abstentions remain at nine.”
With 257 affirmative votes, the House has now officially passed the baton to the Senate, which will soon convene as an impeachment court to decide the Vice President’s fate.