Senate votes to send complaint back to House
THE Senate finally convened the impeachment court yesterday, with Senate President Francis Escudero swearing in the senators as judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Hours later, however, the senators voted to send the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives for clarification.
The senators voted 18-5 in favor of the motion of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, which was an amended version of the motion of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa seeking to dismiss the impeachment complaint because of alleged unconstitutional infirmities and questions as to whether the incoming 20th Congress has jurisdiction over the complaint.
“Cayetano’s amended motion read: ”That the Articles of Impeachment be returned to the House of Representatives without dismissing or terminating nor terminating the case, until such time that the House of Representatives certify the non-violation of Aet. XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that ’No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year’, including the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints.”
“And, the House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicate to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President,” he added.
Voting against were minority leader Aquilino Pimentel, deputy minority leader Riza Hontiveros, and Senators Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian and Grace Poe.
Dela Rosa made the motion in a privilege speech delivered in the plenary.
“I respectfully move that in view of its constitutional infirmities and questions on the jurisdiction and authority of the (incoming) 20th Congress, the verified impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte be dismissed,” dela Rosa said.
The minority bloc objected, saying the senators agreed on Monday night that the oath-taking should take place first.
Cayetano, sensing a long debate on the question of whether the oath-taking or the privilege speech should come first, interjected and requested Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III to give way to dela Rosa.
Pimentel agreed.
In his privilege speech, Dela Rosa said the impeachment complaint endorsed by 215 members of the House of Representatives should be dismissed because of legal issues.
“I respectfully move that in view of its constitutional infirmities and questions on the jurisdiction and authority of the (incoming) 20th Congress, the verified impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte be dismissed,” Dela Rosa said.
He said the complaint was not based on “solid foundation” and were merely due to politics.
He said the Senate may have the obligation to convene as an impeachment court once the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted by the House, but the Senate also has the obligation to thoroughly scrutinize the complaint to determine if it is in accordance with the rules on impeachment, particularly on the one-year ban on filing impeachment cases against any impeachable officer.
He raised “serious concerns” on the unsound foundation of the Articles of Impeachment that the Senate is set to tackle.
“Article 11, Section 3, paragraph 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that a verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any member of the House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any member thereof which shall be included in the order of business within 10 session days and referred to the proper committee within three session days thereafter keeping in mind the aforementioned constitutional provision,” he said.
He said that the first impeachment complaint was filed on December 2 last year, the second on December 4 also last year, and the third filed on Dec. 19, 2024. The fourth was filed on February 5 this year and transmitted to the Senate on the same day.
After dela Rosa’ speech, Sen. Christopher Go wanted to deliver a seconding speech but was not allowed by Escudero pending the motion of the minority bloc not to entertain any speech or interpellation until the senators are sworn in as impeachment trial judges.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said Dela Rosa’s motion to dismiss the complaint can be best tackled when the Senate is sitting as an impeachment court, not as a legislative body, since it concerns the impeachment complaint.
COURT CONVENED
Escudero ruled that the 23 senators be first sworn in as impeachment trial judges before they can discuss anything about the impeachment process.
The Senate president suspended the session for 15 minutes to allow the senators to don their respective robes as they take their oath as trial judges.
The oath-taking signaled that the impeachment court is now in session
Twenty-two senators who took their oath as trial judges wore their robes for the first time. Senators Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Cynthia Villar, known allies of Duterte, did not wear their robes, saying they have “reservations.”
Dela Rosa, during the impeachment court session, reiterated his motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Duterte, which was seconded by Go.
Pimentel objected, saying the Senate only has the power to try and decide on the complaint, not dismiss it.
Deputy minority leader Riza Hontiveros seconded Pimentel’s objection, saying it is the accused who should file the dismissal of the complaints against her.
Villanueva agreed with the minority bloc since the Senate is mandated to try and decide on the complaints, not dismiss them.
Cayetano said that if the impeachment court dismissed the complaint outright, the House prosecutors can file the case again before the Senate. He then recommended that Dela Rosa amend his motion — to remand the impeachment complaint to the House instead of moving to dismiss them.
He said that from a “practical point of view,” if the senators dismiss the complaint, the House will just re-file it.
“If we do not dismiss it, the same will happen. If we remand it, something will happen. That’s why I’m asking Senator Bato [dela Rosa] if he will again consider amending his motion),” Cayetano said in mixed Filipino and English.
He added that remanding the complaint will compel the House to issue a certification that its members did not violate the one-year ban in filing impeachment complaints against impeachable officials of the government.
Cayetano said the impeachment court can do three things with regard to Dela Rosa’s motion — to continue with the impeachment process, to dismiss the complaints, or remand it to the House.
“So, my amendment is to remand it to the House for its members to certify that they did not violate the Constitution in entertaining more than one impeachment complaint in one year. Number two, if they are still interested to pursue the impeachment complaint,” he said.
EVIDENCE
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Dela Rosa’s motion is very hard to decide on without even the presentation of evidence of both sides. In fact, he added, the issues at hand of dela Rosa may also be voiced out by the defense team during the trial proper.
Hontiveros argued that remanding the complaints is tantamount to the functional dismissal of the case.
Escudero denied this, saying the impeachment court will be issuing summons after last night’s court session. He added the House cannot ignore the remanded impeachment complaint and not comply with the order since it was an instruction coming from the presiding officer of the impeachment court.
“I think it would be mischaracterization as to the intent of the court that this is the desired effect. The desired effect or the effect of this would be for orders to be issued to the House of Representatives to comply with the two points raised by Senator Cayetano and for the issuance of summons to proceed thereafter. Hence, that proves that this is not a dismissal in any shape, size, or form,” Escudero said.
PLUNDER RAPS
The House of Representatives last night adopted the recommendation of the Committee on Good Government for the filing of plunder charges against Duterte and officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for their alleged misuse of hundreds of millions in confidential funds when the Vice President was still the education secretary.
The recommendation was part of Committee Report No. 1503 which is a result of the panel’s eight hearings on the alleged misuse of public funds by the DepEd and the OVP.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, panel chair, presented the committee report to the plenary based on the panel’s eight hearings into the P612.5 million worth of confidential funds disbursed by both the DepEd and the OVP through the use of dubious recipients such as the now infamous “Mary Jane Piattos.”
The panel also found Duterte liable for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, the same grounds cited in the Articles of Impeachment.
The Chua panel said among those who should face plunder charges along with Duterte are the DepEd officials who had something to do with handling the funds such as former DepEd special disbursing officer (SDO) Edward Fajarda; security officer Lt. Col. Dennis Nolasco; Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, head of the Vice President Security and Protection Group; undersecretary for finance Annalyn Sevilla; and former undersecretary Nolasco Mempin.
The committee said plunder charges should also be filed against OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff and Bids and Awards Committee chair Lemuel Ortonio, SDO Gina Acosta, and other officials who may be identified in the future.
The panel also recommended that charges against the same officials be filed for technical malversation, falsification and use of falsified documents.
It also wants Duterte and Acosta to face perjury charges on top of the bribery and corruption against the Vice President, Fajarda and other DepEd officials and employees.
CROSSOVER
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expects the impeachment trial to eventually cross over to the 20th Congress, which will open in July, due to the limited time that the Senate have.
Marcos asked why there should be any “controversy” in the crossing over of the impeachment trial from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress given that the current congress would soon end its term.
“Why? What is the controversy? It is very clear that it will. Because there is no way that, even if they start the trial now, that they will finish it before the new senators come in,” he said.
He added that in the end it would still be the senators who will decide.
Several senators would end their term on June 20 along with the conclusion of the 19th Congress.
The new senators, along with those who were re-elected for another term would assume their post on July 28 when the 20th Congress opens. – With Wendell Vigilia and Jocelyn Reyes
