SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday urged Senate President Francis Escudero to heed the request of majority leader Aquilino Pimentel III to call an all-senators caucus so members of the chamber can decide on whether they can convene as an impeachment court while Congress is on break.
Hontiveros noted conflicting legal opinions on the matter, which she said can be resolved by the Senate itself in an all-senators caucus, without the need for a ruling from the Supreme Court as what some groups are seeking.
“While we are waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on those petitions, I see no obstacle why the Senate cannot perform its responsibility),” Hontiveros said in Filipino.
For one, petitioner Catalino Aldea Generillo is asking the Supreme Court to direct the senators to immediately constitute themselves as impeachment court so the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte can be immediately discussed even if Congress is on recess.
Hontiveros said she is supporting Pimentel’s call for the Senate leadership to call for a caucus so the senators can present their opinions to their colleagues and make a decision on the matter, and not have the Supreme Court interpret the Constitution for them.
Escudero is firm on his stand that “nothing will happen” with regard to the impeachment trial while Congress is on recess. He said he is following the right process so as not give the Vice President and other stakeholders the chance to question the legality of the impeachment court once it is established.
Hontiveros reminded her colleagues it is their duty to act swiftly on the Articles of Impeachment from the time it was transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate because they will not be functioning as a legislative body while they are on a break.
She said Escudero should call a caucus for them to decide if they can convene earlier than June 2, the day when regular sessions resume as it is clearly stated in the Constitution that the impeachment trial shall proceed “forthwith” upon the Senate’s receipt of the Articles of Impeachment, which was on February 5.
“There’s nothing stopping us from discussing the Articles of Impeachment and constituting ourselves as an impeachment court,” she said.
She also said she is also amenable to having a special session just so they can tackle the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
Hontiveros said the impeachment trial is not just a political exercise but rather exacting accountability from the impeached official who is being accused of funds misuse, among others.
She said she will “start” from scratch so she can make a sound judgment even if she has had several brushes with the Vice President in past budget hearings, and not base her decision that Duterte is the daughter of the former president whom she also had misunderstandings with.
