Manila: Senate President Francis Escudero on Wednesday dismissed claims of an alleged resolution pending in the Senate aimed at dismissing the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, describing it as 'a mere scrap of paper.'

According to Philippines News Agency, Escudero clarified in an ambush interview that the Senate has neither received nor acted on any such measure, contrary to the rumors circulating on social media. "Walang ganoon uri ng resolusyon na finile o pending sa Senado sa ngayon. Ano mang kumakalat na resolusyon na wala namang author, na pinakita lang din naman sa akin ng media, ay ika nga mere scrap of paper unless may mag-file niyan, unless may mag-author niyan, unless pagdebatihan 'yan at unless pagbotohan 'yan (There is no such resolution filed or pending in the Senate at this time. Any resolution circulating without an author, that the media has also shown me, is just a scrap of paper unless someone files it, unless someone authors it, unless it is debated and unless it is voted on)," he stated.

Escudero confirmed that he personally verified with the Senate Secretariat on Tuesday morning that no such resolution had been filed. In the absence of any filing, he emphasized that the Senate would proceed with the impeachment process on June 11, following its established rules.

Senator Joel Villanueva also downplayed the circulating document, noting that he only saw a copy of the alleged resolution in the Senate group chat and did not read it, only checking the title. "Kahit na (Even) in person, I've never seen anything like that," he commented.

Meanwhile, Senator Allan Peter Cayetano acknowledged hearing about the resolution but emphasized that the Senate's focus should remain on fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. "I expected something like that because the elephant in the room is very simple. You want to be able to do your Constitutional duty, but I'll make it very clear ha. Walang choice ang Senado (The Senate has no choice). We have to carry out our Constitutional duty," he remarked in a separate ambush interview.

Reports suggest a draft resolution is circulating among senators, proposing to effectively drop the impeachment case against Duterte due to time constraints.