The Congress of Paraguay will continue an impeachment process against conservative President Santiago Peña on Friday, it announced hours after rejecting the president’s resignation.

The Paraguayan Senate has since then summoned Peña to appear before Congress on Friday to present his defense arguments and continue the impeachment proceedings.

Peña publicly announced his resignation from the presidency on Thursday morning as the South American nation faces a severe banking crisis triggered by the recent collapse of the Asunción-based digital bank Ueno — a developing situation that has left millions unable to access their funds. The Paraguayan Central Bank seized Ueno Bank this week and found evidence the financial institution had breached minimum solvency requirements, prompting the freezing of assets as the Central Bank assesses the situation after the alleged mismanagement of the bank.

Members of the Paraguayan opposition accuse Peña of being involved in the insolvency of Ueno Bank, issuing accusations of corruption and conflicts of interest against the conservative head of state. Although President Peña presented his resignation as the nation’s head of state, the Paraguayan Congress rejected it hours later.

Senator and opposition spokesperson Líder Amarilla reportedly argued on Thursday that Congress could not accept Peña’s resignation on grounds that parliament had already started an impeachment process against the conservative President, affirming “there is no way to suspend that.”

According to Amarilla, accepting Peña’s resignation would constitute an act of “impunity” in favor of the president, as he would receive parliamentary immunity benefits upon leaving office. Article 189 of the Paraguayan Constitution states that all former presidents of Paraguay that were democratically elected become senators for life, “unless they have been impeached and found guilty.” Said lifetime senatorial position grants the former president a voice in the Senate, but no vote.

Per the BBC, opposition Senators and lawmakers from the ruling conservative National Republican Association (ANR) party were promoting the impeachment proceedings against Peña.

President Peña responded to the continuation of impeachment proceedings against him by requesting a 72-hour extension of the process so he can duly present his defense. Peña, in a missive addressed to the President of the Paraguayan Congress Basilio Nunez, affirmed that he received the accusatory writ against him with “about 300 pages” of attachments at 10:15 p.m. (local time) on Thursday. Peña stressed that it does not constitute due process, as he was only given a twelve-hour window to respond.

Peña shared a copy of the letter on his official social media accounts on early Friday morning.

“I am going to lay out my truth before the entire citizenry, even though it may be uncomfortable for many political actors. I will never shy away from my commitment to the people, and even less so in difficult times,” Peña wrote.

The Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color reported that the nation’s Senate swiftly rejected Peña’s request and has summoned the president to appear before parliament at 12:10 p.m. (local time) to exercise his defense and continue with the impeachment proceedings.

According to ABC Color, the request was rejected by 39 of the nation’s 45 senators. Only three voted in favor, two abstained from voting, and one was reportedly absent at the time of the vote.

The Paraguayan Senate is reportedly awaiting President Peña to arrive at press time.

Article 225 of the Paraguayan constitution states that impeachment charges against the president, vice president, Supreme Court justices, and other high-ranking authorities shall be brought forward by a two-thirds majority at the Chamber of Deputies. A similar two-third majority at the Senate will try the accused official and find him or her guilty if applicable “for the sole purpose” of removing the official from office.

“In cases of alleged criminal offenses, the case files shall be referred to the ordinary courts,” the article reads.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.