INCOMING Rep. Jose Manuel Diokno yesterday warned senators they will be violating the Constitution if they dismiss the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte without holding a trial.
Diokno, of the party-list group Akbayan and a member of the House of Representatives’ 11-man prosecution panel in the impeachment complaint against Duterte, took exception to the statement of Senate President Francis Escudero who earlier said an impeachment complaint can be dismissed on a mere motion of a senator-judge because the Senate is a collegial body.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Diokno said Escudero’s claim is not in the Constitution.
Incoming senator Panfilo Lacson said he will oppose any motion from a senator-judge to dismiss the impeachment complaint without first hearing the case.
In a separate interview with radio dzBB, Lacson said the Constitution expressly states that it is the role of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to try and decide impeachment complaints, and any move to dismiss a complaint without a trial should come from the defense team, not from the senator-judges.
Escudero made the comment after the Vice President, through her defense team, filed an answer ad cautelam (with caution) seeking the dismissal of the Articles of Impeachment.
Duterte sought the dismissal of the complaint against her after saying she wanted a “bloodbath” during a full trial by the Senate impeachment court.
Diokno, a human rights lawyer and one of the staunchest critics of bloody war on drugs launched by Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, said the senator-judges took an oath to hear the evidence and render a judgment only when all of the pieces of evidence have been presented.
Lacson said senator-judges asking for the dismissal of the complaints is improper, inappropriate, and a mockery of the system.
“For me, we cannot move to dismiss the case because we are judges of the impeachment court. Where can you see a judge who himself will move to dismiss a case? We must decide. So, the motion to dismiss should come from the defense,” he said in Filipino.
RISKS
Lacson said it is best if the senator-judges first hear the case since it is expected of them by the people to perform their duty, adding that outright dismissal of the case “risks of being overturned by the Supeme Court” and if it will be mocked if the latter reverses their decision.
He said proceeding with the trial proper is the way to go, adding that even ordinary courts, at times, defer discussions on motions to dismiss as they would want to proceed with the trial of a case first.
“What I would want is for us and for our countrymen to first see the presentation of the prosecution of the evidence. We, as senator-judges, will appreciate it better if we see the evidence, before we rule on the motion to dismiss. I am not saying that it is right because it is questionable because our role is to try and decide, finish the trial … At the very least the prosecution must be able to present the evidence. What will be the basis for dismissing if we still have not seen the evidence?,” he said.
Lacson said the impeachment court’s decision is not subject to review or appeal, but if the complaints will be outright dismissed, based on technicality and not on evidence, it will surely be challenged before the Supreme Cour with a possibility of the impeachment court’s decision be overturned.
Escudero has said that if the Supreme Court reverses the impeachment court’s decision, the senator-judges can decide among themselves if they will abide by the ruling.
Lacson said if that happens, the Senate impeachment court cannot do anything but abide by the Supreme Court because the high court’s decision automatically becomes a part of the laws of the land.
“Otherwise, where is the rule of law if we will not obey the highest court of the Republic of the Philippines? … That will be chaotic if, for example, our decision was reversed and then we will refuse to follow. We will be at fault here. We must respect the Supreme Court, he added.
OUTRIGHT DISMISSAL
While the Senate sitting as an impeachment court can decide on a motion through a majority vote, Lacson said, voting in favor of outright dismissing the impeachment complaint may be deemed unconstitutional.
“If a simple motion like for an administrative action will be made, the majority will surely be followed. But the question is, is this consistent with the provision of the Constitution on impeachment cases which have been transmitted to the Senate?” he said.
He said the provisions of the Constitution should be interpreted in a plain and simple manner, and that is for the Senate to try and decide on impeachment complaints.
Lacson, however, said he is still consulting with legal luminaries if the outright dismissal of impeachment case is possible even without hearing it.
FOCUS
Lacson said the senator-judges must weigh the pieces of evidence to be presented by the prosecution and avoid being influenced by what other sectors may state with regard to the merits of the case.
He said they should liken themselves to the jury system of the United States, where members of the jury are “sequestered” so not to be swayed by any opinion or news while trial is ongoing.
He said they should take the word of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile that senator-judges should only follow the flow of the trial and not act as if they are members of either the defense or prosecution.
He said the only time when a senator-judge asks the prosecution or the defense is to clarify matters.
“We will just listen. There should be no grandstanding … If there is something unclear, let’s say the defense lawyer said something that is not clear, we will ask him or her to clarify it. We should not express our own opinion regarding the case … Behave and speak like judges … We should not meddle in the presentation of evidence. Leave it to the defense and prosecution team,” he said.
PARAMETERS
He said the senator-judges must set parameters for the evidence, which will be the basis of an acquittal or conviction.
“For me, at the very least, we must not go below the threshold of preponderance of guilt. If the evidence are lacking, if there is no preponderance. Speaking for myself, I will vote to acquit. But if the threshold of preponderance is overwhelming even if there is no guilt beyond reasonable doubt, I will vote to convict,” he added.
Among actual grounds cited by the House in the complaint is Duterte’s alleged misuse of hundreds of millions on confidential funds using fictitious names such as “Mary Grace Piattos” as recipients, including spending of P125 million in confidential funds within 11 days.
Lacson said the people should not pass judgment on senators who are known allies of the Vice President because whatever their decision may be in the end, it will be the voters who will decide on their political fate.
In can be recalled that 18 of the 23 senators of the current 19th Congress voted in favor of returning the Articles of Impeachment so the House of Representatives, and required the latter to issue a certification that it did not violate the rule on one-year ban on filing impeachment complaints.
While there were four impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President, only one proceeding was initiated after the House of Representatives endorsed the fourth complaint filed by its leaders last February and archived the three others.
The return decision was a result of an amendment of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, to the motion of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa for the outright dismissal of the impeachment complaint because of alleged infirmities in the Articles of Impeachment.
The senators who opposed the motion were senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Risa Hontiveros, Sherwin Gatchalian, Nancy Binay, and Grace Poe.
Among them, only Hontiveros and Gatchalian will continue their terms as senators in the 20th Congress.
Lacson will be one of the 12 new senators of the 20th Congress. The others are Vicente Sotto III, Camille Villar, Erwin Tulfo, Rodante Marcoleta, Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino, re-elected senators Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Christoper Go, and Ronald dela Rosa.
Of the 12 new and re-elected senators, Go, dela Rosa, Marcos, and Marcoleta are known allies of Duterte.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, also a member of the House of Representatives’ 11-man prosecution panel, and incoming Rep. Leila De Lima (PL, ML), also a member of the team, have both said the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, has no power to dismiss the Articles of Impeachment without even hearing the case.
Luistro has said the Constitution is clear thar the power and function of the impeachment court is to “try and to decide” the case, not dismiss it on a mere technicality based on a mere pleading of the defense panel.
De Lima, in a Facebook post last Thursday, said: “May Chiz Escudero version na talaga ang 1987 Constitution. Ibang-iba sa original (The Constitution really has a Chiz Escudero version. It’s very different from the 1987 Constitution.”
