Diokno, De Lima hit remanding of impeachment complaint vs. VP Sara

June 11, 2025 , 09:33 AM

JUNE 11, 2025 — Two incoming representatives and House prosecutors decried the Senate’s decision to send the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the House of Representatives.

This comes after the Senate, convened as an impeachment court, voted 18-5 on a motion to remand the complaint on Tuesday night.

In an interview with Ted Failon & DJ Chacha, incoming Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno stressed that this was a clear violation of the Constitution.

“Wala namang nakalagay kasi sa Konstitusyon na pwedeng i-dismiss o pwedeng i-remand o ibalik ang articles of impeachment. Malinaw na hindi ito ‘yung dapat na mangyari,” said Diokno.

Diokno added that the Senate could only return the complaint back to the House if it failed to gather signatures from at least 1/3 of the House, as prescribed in the Constitution.

Mamamayang Liberal Representative-elect Leila De Lima also slammed the remanding of the complaint, saying “there is no rule that allows this.”

“Harap-harapan na tayong niloloko. No justice in shutting the door before the people can speak. No truth in a court that silences both sides,” De Lima said in a statement.

De Lima also stressed that the Senate’s decision is more than just a setback but a “stain” on the law and the idea of accountability.

“You had one job: to let the truth be heard. Instead, you chose silence dressed as procedure. Delay disguised as order. Cowardice in the costume of rules,” she added.

IMPEACHMENT COURT MISSTEPS?

Shortly after the Senate convened on as an impeachment court on Tuesday night, Senator Bato dela Rosa reiterated his motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint, citing “constitutional infirmities.”

Another senator, Alan Peter Cayetano, moved to amend the motion and suggested sending back the complaint to have the lower chamber certify that they did not violate the Constitution and that the lower chamber in the 20th Congress remained interested in pursuing the case.

However, Diokno explained that all questions about the legality of filing of complaints should have been rendered moot when the House of Representatives transmitted the case to the Senate with at least 1/3 of the lower chamber signing the articles of impeachment.

“Ang dapat tutukan ay anong nangyari ‘nung na-transmit ‘yung articles na mayroon pirma ng 1/3 members ng house at bakit hindi agad-agad tinuloy ang trial,” he stressed.

Diokno also laid out the legal definition of a trial — which, in the case of Duterte’s impeachment, was supposed to begin in the Senate “forthwith”.

“Ang ibig sabihin ng ‘trial’ ay ‘yung pagtatanggap ng ebidensya, pag-uupo ng mga testigo, pagbibigay ng exhibits sa korte,” explained Diokno, also a private prosecutor during the Estrada impeachment case in 2001.

The Akbayan representative also questioned Dela Rosa’s motion to dismiss the complaint while the Senate was sitting as an impeachment court.

“Pwede ba mag-file ng motion ang isang judge? Sa court, ang pwede lang mag-file ng ganyang motion ay ‘yung parties—either defendant o ‘yung plaintiff,” he added.

Diokno said the Senate should subscribe to the impeachment process written in the Constitution instead of making up their own rules.

The focus of the impeachment should not be the process but the supposed violations to the Constitution committed by the second highest official in the land, he added.

“Parang nakakalimutan na natin na ang nililitis nitong impeachment case ay ‘yung pinaka-serious mga krimen na maaaring magawa ng isang government official na napakataas sa pwesto,” said Diokno.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.