SENATOR Juan Miguel “Migs” Zubiri clarified his decision to vote “yes” on archiving the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, stating that the move was based on the Supreme Court’s ruling, which he described as “immediately executory.”
Zubiri spoke to the media on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, during a mass surrender ceremony of New People’s Army (NPA) members in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon, where he was a guest speaker.
“The instruction of the Supreme Court is very simple—it is immediately executory,” Zubiri said.
He used an analogy, explaining that if a court says a prisoner’s release is “immediately executory,” the person will be released from jail.
“In this case, it’s the same; if it’s ‘immediately executory,’ it means it’s done. It’s finished.”The senator further explained that he requested an amendment to the motion from his colleagues, including Senator Marcoleta, to “archive” the articles instead of “dismissing” them.
He stressed that archiving does not mean the issue is permanently discarded.
“It’s not that we threw it out of the Senate; it’s still there. It can still be revived,” he said.
“I support the decision of the Supreme Court without prejudice to their overturning the decision. This means I support that it’s ‘immediately executory,’ but if they say they made a mistake and the impeachment needs to proceed, we will bring it back from the archives to the plenary.”
Zubiri concluded by saying that, for the time being, while they wait for a motion for reconsideration, it is best to “archive that problem” and focus on the more pressing issues facing the Philippines.
Photo by Rhoda Grace B Saron
