SENATE President Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday said the Senate will stick to its timeline and will not be dictated upon by the House of Representatives on what they should do with the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Escudero said the Senate will act according to what it believes is right and in accordance with the processes.
“I have proven in my years in government service that I do not act or make decisions just because I am afraid of someone,” Escudero said in Filipino in an interview.
He made the statement amid criticisms from House members that he is dragging his foot on the impeachment complaint against Duterte after he moved the trial from June 2 to June 11, leaving the Senate with little time to proceed with the impeachment before it adjourns on June 13.
Escudero said congressmen have gotten used to dictating on the Senate on what they want to happen with the impeachment trial.
“Ang mga kongresista tila nasasanay na diktahan ang Senado kaugnay sa gusto nilang mangyari sa impeachment. Puwes, kung ang trabaho ng ilang mambabatas (ay) maging sunod-sunuran (sa gusto ni) Speaker (Martin) Romualdez, klaro itong impeachment na ito, hindi namin trabaho ‘yan sa Senado. Hindi ko rin trabaho ‘yan bilang taga-pangulo ng Senado. Para sa akin, gagampanan namin ang aming tungkulin ayon sa aming paniniwala na tamang proseso na naaayon sa batas (Some congressmen seem have gotten used to dictating on the Senate on what they want to happen in this impeachment trial. If some of them want to bow down to Speaker Romualdez, who clearly is in favor of this impeachment trial, well, that is not the job of the Senate. It is also not my job as Senate president. For me, we will do our duties in accordance with the right processes and in accordance with the law),” he said.
Escudero said the House sat on the impeachment complaints against Duterte for more than two months before it was transmitted to the Senate on February 5.
He said the Senate has kept mum on this since they do not want to dictate on how congressmen should have done their job.
He pointed out that the rules of the House state that impeachment complaints, once filed, should be immediately transmitted to the Speaker.
“Hindi nila ginawa ‘yun sa loob ng dalawang buwan. May narinig ba sila sa amin? Ginalang namin ang kanilang pasya, proseso, at pagde-desisyon. Yan sana ang inaasahan ko rin sa kanila. Subalit maging ganoon pa man, hindi ko sila puwedeng piliting gawin o hindi gawin ang particular na bagay. Gayon din sila, kung gusto nilang maging sunod-sunuran sa gusto ng kanilang Speaker, puwes hindo po namin trabaho yun (They did not act on it for two months. Did they hear anything from us? We respected their decision and processes. I am also expecting the same from them. In the same manner, I cannot force them to do a particular thing. Now, if they want to blindly follow what their Speaker wants, well, it is not our job to do so),” Escudero said.
“Klaro, ang Senado ay hindi sunod-sunuran sa Kamara kaugnay sa anumang bagay, kabilang na ang impeachment anuman ang ingaw-ngaw o sabihin (nila) (One thing is clear, the Senate will not bow down to the whims of the House of Representatives, including the impeachment trial no matter what they say),” he said.
‘NOT SCARED’
Duterte brushed aside allegations that Escudero is delaying the start of her impeachment trial because the lawmaker is afraid of her.
Speaking to television reporters at The Hague in Netherlands after paying her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, a visit at his detention place, the Vice President said that Escudero is not the type to act based on his fears.
“I do not know him na natatakot na politico. Hindi ko alam saan nanggagaling yung sinasabi na takot sya (I do not know him to be the type of politician who scares easy. I have no idea where those rumors are coming from that attributes his actions to being scared)” she said.
She added that her legal team is also looking into the finer points of the law regarding questions of procedures if the impeachment complaint crafted in the 19th Congress may carry-over to the 20th Congress.
However, she declined to provide further clarification invoking the advice of her lawyers.
It was Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña who brought up the subject of the Senate President’s nerve after the Senate deferred the scheduled reading of the Articles of Impeachment and moved it from June 2 to June 11.
Cendaña insisted that convening the Senate as an impeachment court is a solemn constitutional duty and the Senate leadership’s inaction may be seen as a betrayal of its constitutional mandate and a deliberate attempt to shield the Vice President from accountability.
The party-list lawmaker is an endorser of the first impeachment complaint filed before the House of Representatives.
Gabriela part-list Rep. Arlene Brosas for her part accused the Senate leadership of attempting to bury the impeachment trial of the Vice President.
“Four long months have passed since the House of Representatives transmitted the Articles of Impeachment, yet the Senate has done nothing to fulfill its constitutional duty to convene as an impeachment court,” she said.
She likewise called out Escudero for what she described as the Senate leader’s disinterest in the serious allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds leveled against the Vice President.
Brosas rejected Escudero’s proposal for a plenary vote on whether to proceed with the trial.
Unless the Senate shows resolve in conducting Duterte’s impeachment trial, she said the hard work of the House members who conducted hearings into the alleged irregularities in the disbursement of public funds under Duterte as secretary of the Department of Education and as vice president will go to waste.
She protested what she called “a deliberate scheme to let the impeachment complaint die a slow death.”
“By allowing months to drift by on the pending impeachment complaint, it is now at risk of ending in a trash bin. Without even leaving the starting gate, it appears the Senate has already determined the winner,” she lamented.
SENATE RESOLUTION
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said it was him who came up with a draft copy of a resolution calling for the “de facto dismissal” of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
In an interview yesterday afternoon, Dela Rosa said the Vice President has nothing to do with the draft resolution, which he said he circulated among senators this week.
“Galing iyon sa office ko. You’ll understand everything, very self-explanatory. Mabasa niyo doon ano sinasabi ko, ano saloobin ko (The resolution originated from my office. You’ll understand everything, it’s self-explanatory. You will read in the draft resolution what I want to say, what my feelings are),” he said.
“Akin itong initiative. Wala siyang pakialam dito (This is my initiative. She [the Vice President] has nothing do with it),” he added.
Dela Rosa said he will file the resolution either this week or next week.
“Now therefore, be it resolved as it hereby resolves, for the Senate to declare a de facto dismissal of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte by operation of the 1987 Constitution,” the unsigned and undated resolution stated.
Dela Rosa said the impeachment complaint should be dismissed, citing the lapse of 100 days since the Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate by the House of Representatives.
He also said that the incoming 20th Congress lacks jurisdiction over the impeachment complaint.
“Based on my readings, legal opinions coming from legal experts, walang jurisdiction ang 20th Congress to act on the impeachment filed in the 19th Congress (The 20th Congress has no jurisdiction to act on the impeachment filed in the 19th Congress),” he said as he urged his colleagues to study the draft.
Dela Rosa said there are actually three draft resolutions that he is working on.
Earlier on Wednesday, Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he received a copy of the resolution, but said its “proponent” did not ask him to sign it.
“We were just asked to read it,” he said, adding that he did not see any signatures affixed to the draft.
Escudero said the resolution has not been filed as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, or even Wednesday morning.
Until it is filed, he said this will be considered as a “mere scrap of paper.”
Escudero said he saw a copy of the resolution only through the media.
He said if a senator will file such a resolution, it will only be acted upon in the plenary if there is someone who will move to tackle it, otherwise there is nothing to act upon.
“As of Tuesday night, even this [Wednesday] morning, I asked [if there was such a resolution] due to the questions from the media. There is no such resolution filed in the Senate as of today. That’s why there is no resolution to act upon, be it the same or almost similar with what is circulating today),” he said in Filipino.
He stood firm that any and all matters pertaining to the impeachment trial will be discussed on June 11.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said he saw a copy of the resolution on Facebook, adding that he expected that some sort of things like this will surface.
Cayetano reminded his colleagues that the Senate has no other choice but proceed with the impeachment trial as provided for in the Constitution.
“There is no debate that in an impeachment we are talking of accountability. But if the president is impeached is another thing because each day that he or she stays, it is damaging to the country. But I think the people are thinking that the impeachment f the vice president is different because you can file charges against him or her before the courts or in the Ombudsman,” he said in Filipino.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said the resolution has a “flawed logic.”
“Big chance not authentic. Even quotation of the constitutional provision is not accurate,” Pimentel said.
Senate deputy majority leader Joseph Victor Ejercito said he has yet to see a copy of the resolution.
“Whether I am in favor or not of impeachment is irrelevant (because) it is the Senate’s constitutional duty to convene and proceed with the trial. I have mentioned before that impeachment process is very divisive, but we have to go through it as part of sworn duty,” he said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said he had also seen the resolution, but said it is hard to speculate if such can dismiss the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
20TH CONGRESS
Former Commission on Elections commissioner Rene Sarmiento, who was one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, said senators do not need to vote whether to proceed with the impeachment trial in the 20th Congress since the Senate is a continuing body that will perform its non-legislative function.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Sarmiento said the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment by the House of Representatives to the Senate signaled the start of the impeachment process that should be finished until the end even if it crosses over from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress.
“The Senate is a continuing body. It must be continuous from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress. Continuing body until the impeachment mission is completed or resolved. It can cross over, that is very clear,” he said.
He said the Supreme Court has already decided on a similar instance in the case of Aquilino Pimentel Jr. v. the Joint Committee of Congress which happened during the 12th Congress in 2004.
He also said that SC decisions in Nery v. Senate, and Balag v. Senate, which have been cited by some legal minds, were different from the abovementioned case since they were in aid of legislation, but the Pimental case involves a cease and desist motion for the joint committee of Congress from conducting further proceedings pursuant to the Rules of the Joint Public Session of Congress on the canvassing of votes in the May 10, 2002 elections.
Pimentel asked the SC then to issue a cease and desist order since 12th Congress adjourned sine die on June 11, 20024 without finishing the canvassing of votes and as such, its job should have been terminated and expired the day it (12th Congress) also expired.
The SC, however, dismissed Pimentel’s plea saying that the legislative functions of the 12th Congress may have come to a close upon the final adjournment of its regular sessions on June 11, 2004 “but this does not affect its non-legislative functions such as being the National Board of Canvassers.”
Escudero has earlier said members of the 20th Congress Senate will have to decide if they want to proceed with the impeachment trial or not since the 19th Congress cannot bind the 20th Congress.
Sarmiento said that this not necessary.
“Hindi na po kasi until mission is accomplished, yan po ay tuloy-tuloy. Napakalinaw po ang ating Saligang Batas, 12th Congress discussion, at ang Pimentel case, napakalinaw po (Voting is not needed until their mission is accomplished. The impeachment process should be continuous. That is very clear in our Constitution, 12th Congress discussion, and in the Pimentel case which was also very clear),” he stressed.
He said the Senate’s “mission” as an impeachment court actually started upon the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment last February 5.
He said that since SC decisions become part of the laws of the land, they should be followed.
He said convening as an impeachment court is a mandate of the senators since it is one of their “non-lawmaking functions.”
He said the other non-lawmaking functions of Congress include revocation of the president’s declaration of martial law, declare a state of war, conduct congressional hearings in aid of legislation, get involved in the budget process, confirm or reject the appointment of certain individuals in the Cabinet, and convene into a Constitutional assembly.
“So, wala pong epekto ang adjournment…Tuloy-tuloy po kahit nagbago po ang composition ng ating Senado (So, the sine die adjournment has no effect… Their duties and responsibilities should continue even if there is a change in the composition of the Senate),” he said.
When asked if the Senate can convene as an impeachment court even if the impeachment complaints have not been formally referred to a Senate committee, Sarmiento said “that is debatable.”
Sarmiento also cited an instance in the United States where the impeachment trial of Judge John Pickering crossed over from their 7th Congress in the year 1803 to the 8th Congress in the year 1804.
He said the impeachment complaint against Pickering was submitted on the last day of the 7th Congress and the process crossed over until it was finished in the 8th Congress.
Sarmiento said it will be unfair to the people if the Senate will not act on the impeachment complaints. – With Peter Tabingo
