The Senate Has No Power to Refer Articles of Impeachment Back to the House Once Transmitted | By Atty. Phil Juris

In the wake of renewed public interest in the impeachment process, questions have emerged regarding the scope of the Senate’s authority once the House of Representatives transmits the Articles of Impeachment. Specifically, some have asked: Can the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, vote to refer the Articles of Impeachment back to the House for amendment, correction, or further action?

A careful reading of the 1987 Constitution and relevant Supreme Court jurisprudence yields a clear answer: once the House of Representatives transmits the Articles of Impeachment, the Senate’s constitutional duty is to try and decide the case. There is no constitutional provision or controlling case law that allows the Senate to refer the Articles back to the House.

Constitutional Framework

The Constitution vests in the House of Representatives the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. Once a verified complaint is filed and the required vote is secured, the House adopts the Articles of Impeachment and transmits them to the Senate. Thereafter, the Senate is constitutionally mandated to exercise the “sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.”

This process is sequential and deliberately structured: the House initiates, the Senate tries and decides. Nowhere in Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution is there a mechanism or implied authority for the Senate to remand the Articles to the House for revision or reconsideration. To allow such a step would contravene the Constitution’s express allocation of duties between the two chambers and violate the principle of separation of powers.

Jurisprudential Guidance

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Francisco, Jr. v. House of Representatives, G.R. No. 160261, et al. (2003) provides authoritative guidance on the matter. In Francisco, the Court meticulously examined the constitutional provisions governing impeachment, emphasizing the strict procedural boundaries set by the Charter. The decision underscored that the House’s exclusive power is to initiate, while the Senate’s exclusive power is to try and decide. The Court also highlighted the constitutional limitations imposed on both chambers, including the one-year bar on multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official.

Notably, the Supreme Court in Francisco did not recognize any authority on the part of the Senate to refer the Articles of Impeachment back to the House. Instead, the Court affirmed that the Senate’s role is to proceed with the trial upon receipt of the Articles. The only recognized instance where the Senate may decline to proceed is if it finds the Articles of Impeachment to be insufficient in form or substance. In such a case, the Senate may dismiss the case outright, but this is categorically different from referring the matter back to the House for further action.

Dismissal Is Not Referral

It is important to distinguish between the Senate’s authority to dismiss an impeachment case and the idea of referring the Articles back to the House. The Senate may, in the exercise of its judicial discretion, dismiss an impeachment case for insufficiency in form or substance. This is a terminal act—comparable to a court dismissing a case due to lack of merit or procedural infirmities.

Referral, however, implies a continuing legislative process—a back-and-forth mechanism between the House and the Senate that has no basis in the Constitution. To blur the line between dismissal and referral is to invite procedural confusion and constitutional overreach.

Practical and Policy Considerations

Authorizing the Senate to refer Articles back to the House would not only lack constitutional grounding, but would also erode the integrity of the impeachment process. It would create an avenue for political maneuvering and indefinite revisions, undermining the stability, finality, and independence that the framers sought to uphold. The impeachment process is meant to be expeditious, fair, and definitive—not a venue for prolonged institutional bargaining.

In sum, once the House of Representatives has approved and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment, the Senate has only one constitutional duty: to try and decide the case. It has no authority to refer the Articles back to the House for further proceedings. While the Senate may dismiss the case if warranted, such dismissal is a final adjudicative act—not an invitation for legislative do-over. This clear separation of roles upholds the integrity, efficiency, and constitutional structure of the impeachment process.

By Atty. Phil Juris