🕓 Last Updated: June 5, 2025, 2:27 pm (PH time)
What’s off with Senate President Chiz Escudero? The apparent delay in transmitting VP Sara Duterte impeachment articles raises serious questions and calls for immediate transparency. Here’s what might be behind the hold-up.
When the House of Representatives transmitted the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, all eyes immediately turned to the Senate for action. Yet, days have passed without the Articles reaching the Senate Committee on Rules, a delay confirmed by Senator-elect Vicente “Tito” Sotto II. At the center of the inaction? Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
As the nation watches this high-stakes political spectacle unfold, Escudero’s decision to delay the transmittal raises more questions than answers—and it’s a delay that Filipinos deserve answers for.
Such a Delay That Echoes Loudly
On paper, the impeachment process is straightforward. That is, once the House approves the Articles of Impeachment, the Senate is constitutionally mandated to receive and prepare for trial proceedings without delay. (PH Constitution, Art. XI, Sec. 3). Yet, Escudero explained that the delay in transmitting the impeachment articles was, apparently, due to prioritizing the review and deliberation of key priority bills currently before the Senate.
But what exactly does this line of reasoning of Sen. Chiz Escudero lead us to?
If what is meant by Chiz Escudero’s line of reasoning is that there is a need to review the Articles of Impeachment, then legal analysts argue that the Senate President’s role in this phase is largely ministerial. Furthermore, constitutional experts may assertively stress that it is not the role of the Senate President to judge the merit of the Articles of Impeachment—that authority lies solely with the Senate acting as an impeachment court.
So, what exactly is Escudero seemingly dilly-dallying over?
The Optics: Political Calculus or Due Process?
Since Chiz Escudero’s seemingly dilly-dallying with the impeachment proceeding against VP Sara Duterte, critics have begun to whisper—some loudly—about the potential motivations behind Escudero’s hesitation. It’s no secret that Escudero has long walked a tightrope in Philippine politics, carving out an identity as an independent but pragmatic operator.
Moreover, his past alliances, including with the Duterte administration, have never been overt, but neither have they been absent. So, what’s the real score?
Meanwhile, amid this, Escudero’s confusing decision to delay the impeachment process, political analysts have observed that he, Sen. Chiz Escudero, often positions himself as a centrist, a strategy that, while fostering broad appeal, may sometimes be perceived as a means to maintain political power rather than uphold firm principles—a classic strategy for classic politics.
Could this technically called delay be a tactical move to give political allies room to negotiate behind closed doors?
Timing and Silence: An Unsettling Combination
There’s also the matter of timing. The postponement came amid a backdrop of heightened public scrutiny of VP Sara Duterte’s confidential fund usage and her statements that critics deemed as inflammatory and unbecoming of her office.
The silence of Sen. Chiz Escudero at a time when other senators have already expressed readiness to conduct the trial is telling. Furthermore, not only one but several senators have emphasized that the Senate must uphold accountability and must not appear as if protecting any official from scrutiny, regardless of their political influence.
So why the silence from the chamber’s top official?
A Pattern of Political Caution?
Escudero’s track record suggests a pattern. During the 2012 impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Escudero was among those who initially urged careful deliberation. Though he eventually voted for conviction, his posture reflected a tendency toward cautious politics—even when decisiveness was needed.
At present, while the nation is confronting another seemingly undesirable constitutional moment, Escudero’s caution may be perceived not as prudence by action but as paralysis by strategy.
The Risk of Perceived Complicity
By delaying transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Committee on Rules, Escudero risks sending a plain, dangerous message: that accountability can wait, especially if the person in question commands political power. Is this a trick?
But for a Senate that prides itself on being the last bastion of democracy, this delay does more than interrupt procedure—it dents public trust in toto.
And while no one can definitively say that Escudero’s actions stem from political favoritism, the absence of transparency provides fertile ground for speculation. In the unfiltered words of a democracy advocate, legal experts emphasize that a lack of transparency, especially in the Senate’s proceedings, can lead to public suspicion when constitutional responsibilities are at stake.
This is a test of the Senate’s leadership. Sen. Escudero is no stranger to high office, but the true substance of leadership is not tested in calm waters. Rather, it is tested in moments like these—when procedure meets principle, outrightly, a leader’s legacy is forged.
Questionably delaying the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment may be legally defensible, but whether it is morally or politically justifiable is a question that Sen. Escudero must answer—not just with words, but with action in sync with the Constitutional mandate.
Moreover, as for me, in a political environment where evasion often masquerades as strategy, the people deserve leaders who confront duty head-on, not ones who deflect or delay. Sir, the clock is ticking. ▲▼
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Regel Javines is the founder/editor-publisher of The Philippine Pundit. Born in Leyte and raised by struggle, he writes truth from the margins. His work explores the intersections of politics, spirituality, and life’s deeper questions. Blogging since 2011, Regel has contributed incisive political analysis to global citizen journalism platforms, giving voice to stories often left unheard. Currently, he works as a consultant for the Congressional Assistance, Response, and Education (CARE) Program of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.