The Senate and the House of Representatives appeared headed to a standoff over the decision of the former to remand the Articles of Impeachment back to congressmen and give senators assurance that everything is constitutionally in order.

In a press conference, Senate President Francis Escudero said the Lower House is duty bound to follow the impeachment court’s orders.

Escudero stressed that in impeachment cases, the Senate and the House are not co-equals, unlike in legislative work.

However, San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, a member of the panel of impeachment prosecutors, questioned the Senate’ decision to return the complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Zamora said remanding the Articles of Impeachment back to Congress is “beyond the powers of the Senate.

“Remanding it or returning it to Congress is an act of review of the Senate. Hindi nga po ito trabaho ng Senado as an impeachment court dahil ang trabaho nila as impeachment court is to try and decide the case,”:

Zamora insisted that the Lower House did not violate the one-year bar rule of impeachment, an issue that the lower chamber already addressed when they filed the Articles of Impeachment against the vice president.

On Tuesday (June 10), the Senate voted 18 in favor and 5 against to uphold a motion to return to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment to the Lower House in order that congressmen may be able to guarantee that no constitutional infraction has been committed in their filing of the case.

The motion was the offshoot of a move by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to seek the dismissal of the impeachment complaint for being constitutionally infirm.

Escudero said the Lower House has no choice but to respond to the Senate’s orders that the impeachment court be assured that no constitutional provision, in particular the ban on the filing of more than one complaint in one year, has been violated in the filing of the Articles of Impeachment.

According to Escudero the Lower House has no authority to defy the orders of the impeachment court.