MANILA, Philippines — In a major shift in stance, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has announced his support for Charter change, citing a need to address the Supreme Court’s recent decision that voided the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking in an online interview on Friday, January 30, 2026, Sotto expressed deep concern that the high court’s ruling has fundamentally altered the rules of impeachment, making the process “extremely difficult” and nearly impossible to execute.
Call for a Constitutional Assembly Despite being historically opposed to both a Constitutional Convention and a Constitutional Assembly, Sotto said he is now willing to agree to a Constitutional Assembly to “put [impeachment] back in its proper place in the Constitution.”
- Meeting with the House: Sotto plans to meet with House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III next week to discuss potential legislative and constitutional steps to counter the ruling.
- Judicial Overreach: Sotto reiterated his belief that the Supreme Court has introduced new rules that were never intended by the original framers of the 1987 Constitution, particularly regarding how the one-third signature threshold initiates an impeachment.
Critique of the New Impeachment Rules The Senate chief detailed several “difficult” points introduced by the Court’s unanimous decision:
- One-Year Bar: The Court ruled that even archived or unreferred complaints trigger the one-year ban on new impeachment filings.
- Verified Endorsements: The SC now requires every member of the House to confirm that the evidence supports the grounds for a complaint, rather than simply providing a signature.
- Evidence Distribution: Every member must now be given a copy of the full complaint and its evidence, a process Sotto argues will be “very easy to block.”
Speculation on Intent When asked about the possible intent behind these changes, Sotto speculated that the justices might be “protecting themselves from getting impeached.” He argued that the original intent of the Constitution was to ensure that impeachable officers who are not performing their duties or are causing problems for the country could be easily held accountable.
“It used to be easy… once one-third had signed, it was immediately forwarded,” Sotto explained. “Why are we making it difficult now? Forgive me, but I think impeachment now is an impossible dream.”
Sotto’s endorsement of Charter change marks a significant development in the ongoing political friction between the legislative and judicial branches in 2026. He is expected to go through a more detailed point-by-point analysis of the Court’s ruling during the Senate’s session on Monday.