All 22 incumbent senators of the 19th Congress took their oaths Tuesday evening as judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte following an order from presiding judge Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero.
The oath-taking ceremony was held around 6:00 p.m. after hours of debate when Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa moved to dismiss the proceedings, citing alleged “constitutional infirmities” during a privilege speech in the afternoon.
Dela Rosa was given his air time by his colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III, who earlier reminded his fellow senators about what they agreed upon on Monday that they would take their oaths as senator-judges by Tuesday.
Senator Joel Villanueva disagreed with Dela Rosa’s motion, saying the Senate cannot summarily dismiss the proceedings without first convening as an impeachment court, which Escudero agreed to paving the way for the senators to take their oaths.
Escudero said Dela Rosa’s motion is not recognized and will only be acted upon if the impeachment court is convened.
The Senate President then led the oath-taking ceremony with all 22 senators present as he officially convened the Senate as an impeachment court.
The senators wore their impeachment robes except for Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla and Cynthia Villar. Padilla agreed to take an oath but “with reservations.”
As soon as the impeachment court was convened, Dela Rosa and fellow Duterte allies Senators Padilla and Christopher Lawrence Go spoke to reiterate their motions for the Senate to dismiss the impeachment complaints.
Pimentel then objected to the motion of Dela Rosa and other Duterte-allied senators, saying it is “unconstitutional.” Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros echoed his position.
Hontiveros argued that the only person who can submit a motion to dismiss the impeachment proceeding is the defendant herself, Vice President Duterte.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Correction was made in the lead paragraph on the number of senators who took their oaths. The correct figure is 22 as Senate President Chiz Escudero already took his oath on Monday while another seat was left vacant following the appointment of former Senator Sonny Angara as Education Secretary. This story will be further updated.