Sen. Bato Dela Rosa moves to dismiss VP Duterte's impeachment case, Senate votes to return it to House

Sen. Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa moved to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte during a privilege speech in the Senate plenary session on Tuesday.

Dela Rosa argued that there is no prohibition against his motion and cited procedural issues as reasons for his move, despite opposition from other senators.

Eighteen senators voted to approve Dela Rosa's motion to return the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives instead of outright dismissal.

Sen. Joel Villanueva and minority senators Koko Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros objected to Dela Rosa's initial motion, asserting its unconstitutionality and stressing the Senate's responsibility to proceed with the trial as mandated by the Constitution.

Dela Rosa explained that he agreed to modify his proposal from dismissal to just returning the complaint to the House due to practical pressure and to give and take.