FORMER Senate President Franklin Drilon yesterday said it is time for President Marcos Jr to say whether he will call a special session or not, so the Senate will know if it can transform itself into an impeachment court while Congress is on break.
The President, days after the complaint was sent by the House to the Senate on February 5, said he may call a special session if the Senate makes a request. However, Senate President Francis Escudero has said convening the Senate for an impeachment is not among the reasons for which a special session can be called.
Drilon earlier this month said Marcos must call a special session of Congress so the Senate can immediately convene as an impeachment court and start the impeachment trial.
“The ball is now on the hands of the President. If he wants the impeachment court to start [with the trial], he must call for a special session … Once there is a special session, the order of the day, the agenda will include the referral of the impeachment complaint by the Senate President to the impeachment court),” Drilon said in Filipino during an interview yesterday with radio dzBB.
Drilon said stakeholders have been “barking up the wrong tree” by trying to convince Escudero to immediately act on the impeachment complaint.
“They are wrong in insisting that the Senate President can [call a special session]. SP Chiz cannot do anything even if he wants to have a special session without the President calling for it so the Senate can consider the impeachment complaint. It rests solely on the President. The President only has the authority to call for a special session,” he said.
Escudero, in a separate interview also on dzBB, said nothing is holding the Senate from convening as an impeachment court except that Congress is on break.
He said the Senate adjourned on the day the Articles of Impeachment was transmitted by the House, and reiterated they cannot discuss it while Congress is on break.
“There is no delay, but they want us to hurry. I will not allow that… Almost all or 90 percent who want to speed up the process are partisan, which means it has color, it has politics. They want VP Sara to be impeached, they are in favor of booting out VP Duterte,” he said in Filipino.
DISCLOSE STAND
Drilon’s latest statements came amid differing opinions on whether the Senate can convene as an impeachment court even if the President does not call a special session, since the chamber will function as an impeachment court and will not perform its legislative functions.
There are also pending petitions filed by the Vice President and a group of lawyers challenging the impeachment.
Drilon said to end contradicting views on whether the Senate must convene as an impeachment court while Congress is on break, the President must disclose his true stand on the issue.
“That’s right, he must get real. He can say that I don’t want to call a special session, let them convene in June, not now,” he added.
Drilon, however, said that it is the “duty” of the President to call Congress to a special session to start the impeachment process, otherwise, the impeachment trial will not have a chance to proceed since Congress is on break.
He said he can understand why some senators do not want to immediately convene the Senate as an impeachment court, and it is because the midterm election is nearing.
`CODDLING’ THE VP
Makabayan senatorial candidates Liza Maza and Teddy Casiño said the Senate and Malacañang can kickstart the impeachment trial but neither is willing to be seen as the one who pulled the trigger.
In separate statements, the two former members of the House of Representatives said the reluctance of the Palace and the Senate leadership to hold the Vice President to account is eroding public trust on constitutional processes.
Casiño, chairperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the continued inaction of the Senate three weeks after receiving the Articles of Impeachment is undermining the system of checks and balances in government and the integrity and credibility of the chamber itself.
“It is a shame that the Senate is delaying the impeachment trial on such flimsy excuses that they are on a break, or that there is no public clamor for it, or that they are confused with the term `forthwith.’ Maybe they should just admit that they are too busy vacationing to be bothered by their official duties,” he said.
Former Gabriela party list Rep. Liza Maza reminded senators that at the core of the allegations against the Vice President was her misuse of over half a billion public funds.
“We cannot allow that no one will be held accountable for the anomalous disbursement of taxpayers’ money. The Dutertes are trying to postpone the hour of reckoning. That is why the family is doing everything it can to hold on to power and ensure the survival of their political dynasty,” she said.
The two left-leaning senatorial aspirants barnstormed the Dutertes’ stronghold in Davao City last Saturday, sticking to their ground-based campaigning by visiting public markets, transport terminals, communities and other public areas in the city.
Also gone stumping in Davao were their fellow Makabayan bloc senatorial bets Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, labor leader Jerome Adonis, fisherfolks advocate Ronnel Arambulo, Moro rights leader Amirah Lidasan, and community nurse Alyn Andamo.
They all insisted that the Senate impeachment court should be convened and the trial on the articles of impeachment start at once.
“The Senate’s inaction translates to injustice and impunity. While the Vice President gets the luxury of a stall in her trial, ordinary public servant with much lesser offenses swiftly get the axe for their misconduct,” Casiño said.
Maza said Marcos should also bear a portion of the blame for allowing the status quo.
“President Marcos Jr. has refused to support the impeachment efforts against Vice President Sara Duterte. He has also declined to use his presidential authority to compel the Senate to hold a special session for the impeachment trial. Additionally, he has refused to cooperate with the ICC to expedite its investigation into Duterte’s drug war,” she said.
ACCOUNTABILITY
She said Marcos is playing it safe because he does not want these accountability mechanisms used against him in the future.
“Holding accountable those how are in power is key to a real democratic government. Otherwise, these trapos like the Duterte and Marcos political dynasties will just keep on tightening their grip on political power at the expense of the people,” Maza added.
She also took a swipe at the Vice President whose camp had asked for the outright dismissal of the articles of impeachment on supposed procedural violations.
“The Vice President claimed breaking off with a boyfriend is more painful that being impeached but she is pulling all stops to avoid having to face an impeachment trial. We call on the senators to heed the clamor of the public and proceed to trial without any further delay,” she said.
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V, in a statement, told Duterte and her allies to “stop abusing legal processes in a desperate bid to divert public attention away from the real issues surrounding her impeachment.”
“This is a clear abuse of legal processes. Instead of addressing the serious allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, the Vice President and her camp are wasting the time of our courts with frivolous cases designed to harass those who simply did their duty,” Ortega said referring to the cases filed by Duterte and her allies before the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman against House leaders over alleged irregularities in the 2025 budget.
Ortega said the cases “are clearly meant to intimidate, harass and create media distractions rather than seek legitimate legal redress.” – With Peter Tabingo and Wendell Vigilia
He said the House acted well within its constitutional mandate when it impeached VP Duterte and assailed Duterte’s camp for “weaponizing the judiciary to sow fear among legislators and deflect public scrutiny will not work.”
