Tensions have been heating up in the Senate even before the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte began. Senators Robin Padilla and Joel Villanueva nearly clashed after Villanueva opposed Sen. Bato Dela Rosa's motion.
In a video, Dela Rosa can be seen pulling Padilla away while Sen. Nancy Binay restrains Villanueva. Padilla can be heard saying, “Oh what?”, while Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano tried to calm everyone down, saying, “It was just a misunderstanding.”
The source of the tension was Villanueva's opposition to Dela Rosa's motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint against VP Duterte. According to Dela Rosa, there are "constitutional infirmities" and jurisdictional issues, so it should be stopped.
Villanueva was joined in the opposition by Sen. Risa Hontiveros and other senators. Despite this, the Senate declared the formal start of the impeachment and the senator-judges donned crimson robes.
But notably, Duterte's prominent allies such as Padilla, Sen. Cynthia Villar, and Sen. Imee Marcos did not wear robes during the said hearing.
