Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III on Tuesday warned that any attempt to dismiss the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte before trial would be “unconstitutional,” as the Senate prepares to convene as an impeachment court.

In a radio interview, Pimentel said senators have a constitutional duty to proceed with the trial once the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted, saying efforts to cut it short would violate this mandate.

“Maling-mali ‘yun. Legislative body ka, pero gusto mong i-dismiss ang trabaho mo bilang korte? May utos sa amin: mag-trial kayo. Hindi puwedeng maghugas ng kamay at basta na lang i-dismiss kasi mas madali (“That’s absolutely wrong. You’re a legislative body, yet you want to dismiss your duty as a court? We’ve been given a mandate: to conduct a trial. We can’t just wash our hands of it and dismiss the case simply because it’s easier),” he said.

Pimentel’s statement came amid a move by Senator Robin Padilla to file Senate Resolution 1371, which seeks to declare the impeachment proceedings “terminated” due to the limited session days before Congress adjourns sine die on June 13.

But Pimentel maintained such action is “procedurally and constitutionally flawed”.

“Kung ire-raise man ‘yan, ang una kong tatanungin: tama ba ang proseso? Sa court ‘yan dapat i-raise. At ang sagot natin: unconstitutional ‘yan (If that gets raised, the first question I’ll ask is, ‘was the process correct?’ That should be raised in the court. And our response: that’s unconstitutional),” he said.

He reiterated that the Senate cannot simply abandon its role as an impeachment court to avoid the responsibility.

“We are mandated to conduct the trial. We must follow the Constitution,” he said.

Pimentel’s remarks also came hours before senators were scheduled to take their oath as impeachment judges.

Pimentel said the Committee on Rules, chaired by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, is expected to submit a formal report on the referral of the case to fulfill procedural requirements before the court formally convenes.

“May commitment ang Committee on Rules na magre-report out siya ngayon din, tapos diretso na sa oathtaking (The Committee on Rules has committed to report out today, after which the Senate will proceed directly to the oathtaking),” Pimentel noted, adding that Tolentino is not opposed to moving forward with the process.

Under Senate rules, the chamber will read the Articles of Impeachment on June 11 and issue a summons to Duterte.

She will then have 10 days to respond, followed by five days for House prosecutors to file their reply.

“All matters related to the impeachment must be raised in court. At sa rules natin, may time limits. Two minutes lang per issue, walang ulitan. Darating ang panahon na pagbobotohan talaga ‘yan (Under our rules, there are time limits—only two minutes per issue, no repetitions. The time will come when a vote will have to be taken),” Pimentel said. (PNA)