Forthwith to archived

The Philippines Senate’s action to “archive” the impeachment complaint against VP Duterte was not unexpected, as Senate President Escudero had telegraphed this months ago. All his actions to avoid taking up the compliant and delaying maneuvers were evident. The pro-Duterte senators were also eager to feed his actions to dismiss/delay the impeachment trial. These moves were met with strong public opposition by majority of the Filipinos from all sectors, and sensed by the senators and all politicians, that in a 19 to 5 vote by the senators, the approved motion was to “archive” the impeachment but not dismiss. The Senate did not really have the power to dismiss the complaint as the had not convened as an impeachment court, but was acting as a Senate body, and they were cognizant that the Supreme Court decision was on procedural grounds, and not a decision on the impeachment charges. So, the case is now on standstill to be moved later.

Archiving is not really favorable to VP Duterte. It has further heated up the issue, giving it more and longer news/life cycle which will not dissipate until the impeachment trial starts. There are now motions for reconsideration with the Supreme Court ruling, especially on the interpretation on the one-year limitation and the due process requirement before submission to the Senate. These are backed by solid arguments from constitutional delegates/experts and Law professors/luminaries. Then, there are moves to file corruption charges against VP Duterte in other courts, and the refiling of the impeachment complaint on February 7, 2026, which is less than seven months away.

I have always contended that the sooner the impeachment trial is started the better for VP Duterte. The Senate archiving did not change this perspective but rather strengthen the argument. Aside from the low probability of VP Duterte generating more sympathy and more political alliances, the pro-impeachment congresspersons and the civil society will double down on their efforts to have the impeachment trial sooner or later. Sooner, if the Supreme Court reverses its decision, later if a new impeachment complaint is filed. It is too important and crucial for our democracy, it is not going away.

The BBM administration which is in the thick of this battle, behind the scenes, started showing marching orders with BBM clarifying in his interviews that the archiving did not decide VP Duterte’s accountability, nor resolve the rightness or wrongness of the charges. House Speaker Romualdez has also been more vocal about the impeachment issue, and the congresspersons from the left and right ideologies are supporting his position.

The media coverage, both in the main and social media are immense with the impeachment issue cornering more than 50% of political news. This will continue increasing and not abate until the impeachment trial starts in the Senate, by which time it will dominate 80% of the political news in the Philippines, up to when the final verdict is promulgated. After the verdict, guilty or not guilty, will be the new battleground and timeline for the Marcos vs. Duterte war leading to the 2028 elections, with the impeachment trial and verdict as distraction and ammunition.

“Forthwith” really means immediately or without delay, and “to archive” means to store for future use/reference. Maybe Escudero got his definitions right and wanted to immediately store the impeachment complaint. Or he is playing both sides to protect his political ambitions.