San Juan City Representative Ysabel Maria “Bel” Zamora, a member of the House prosecution team, has questioned the Senate’s move to return the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, arguing the Senate has no such power.
“We were shocked,” Zamora said in a radio interview. “Remanding the Articles of Impeachment is beyond the Senate’s authority. Their role as an impeachment court is to try and decide the case—not to review it.”
Zamora insisted that returning the complaint amounts to a judicial review, which, she said, is outside the Senate’s responsibilities. She emphasized that several legal experts had already voiced opposition to the Senate’s action.
The Senate, acting as an impeachment court, voted Tuesday to remand the articles back to the House without dismissing them, pending two certifications: that the one-year bar rule in the Constitution was not violated, and that the 20th Congress is willing to proceed with the complaint.
Zamora countered that the House followed all constitutional and internal rules. She explained that the initial three impeachment complaints were consolidated into one, which earned the required one-third support from House members and was transmitted to the Senate within the 10-session day rule.
She also stressed that the House has always been ready to pursue the impeachment case into the 20th Congress, noting that “there’s no law or constitutional provision that prohibits this.”
Zamora said House prosecutors were set to meet Wednesday to decide their next steps in light of the Senate’s action.
Vice President Duterte was impeached by the House on February 5 on allegations including betrayal of public trust, corruption, and constitutional violations. She has denied all accusations.