House lawmakers expressed disappointment over the Senate's decision to archive the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. They also took issue with Senator Imee Marcos' remarks that seemed to be trivializing the process.
The Senate vote favored archiving the case after complying with the Supreme Court's order temporarily halting the trial. According to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, archiving means the case is "dead," but it can be revived if the Supreme Court reverses the earlier decision.
According to Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list, “The House did its duty and followed the proper process. If anyone should explain, it is the Senate.” He added that the Senate’s move did not provide clarity on the issue nor did it remove the people’s questions about the truth.
Rep. Jay Khonghun, Deputy Speaker and representative of Zambales, also emphasized that the impeachment case went through a proper and thorough discussion in the House. He said, “This decision was not made lightly. We followed the rules.”
The challenge now is for the Senate to explain to the public their actions and deal with the impact of their decision.