THE impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will be on top of the priorities of the House of Representatives as it resumes session today after a four-month break for the May midterm elections.
However, while the 11-man House prosecution team has been raring to go and begin the proceedings in the Senate, they are now expecting further delay because of the Senate leadership’s decision to postpone the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment to June 11, instead of today, to dispose of pending legislative measures.
Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, a member of the prosecution panel, said senators are supposed to take their oaths the next day but they will not be able to do so since June 12 is Independence Day, a holiday.
“In the original schedule, the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment should have been June 2… and on June 3, the next day, our senators will take their oaths),” he told radio dzRH in mixed Filipino and English.
Senate President Francis Escudero announced the change in schedule on Thursday last week. He said the Senate will prioritize the passage of 12 measures, as what was discussed during last week’s Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting held in Malacañang and attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Yesterday, Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Escudero should have stuck to the original schedule, because pre-trial requisites would not eat much of their time.
He said June 11 is technically the last session day of the 19th Congress because June 12 is a holiday. The next question, he said, is when will the Senate convene as an impeachment court if the Articles of Impeachment will be presented on June 11.
“The original schedule was that we start on June 2, and it is not too much of a workload for the impeachment court … The Articles of Impeachment will be read, then the senators will take their oaths as impeachment court judges. That’s the purpose. That will not take too much time. Maybe these two activities will take about 3 to 4 hours,” he said in Filipino.
Pimentel also said the impeachment trial should take precedence over the Senate’s legislative work as what was stated in the Constitution.
He said Rule 10 of the Impeachment Rules states that if the Senate has both an impeachment trial and legislative business, the upper chamber must suspend its legislative business to give way to the impeachment trial.
The Vice President, who earlier said she agrees with survey respondents who said she should be tried by the Senate, is accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes.
Defensor said that while he understands the Senate’s decision to reset the presentation of articles, legislative work should give way to the process of holding a public official accountable through impeachment. He expressed hope the senators understand that impeachment is “the most important and the highest kind of trial in the country.”
Defensor said the Senate should also clarify that what is set to adjourn sine die on June 11, a Wednesday, is the Senate as a lawmaking body and not as an impeachment court.
‘DISTINCT PROCESS’
Defensor reiterated that impeachment is a distinct process, “it’s not a legislative action, not an exercise of legislative power.”
“And under our Constitution, once the trial begins, there is no condition that it will stop once the Senate adjourns,” he added.
As early as December last year, Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales has been saying the complainants will have to wait for another year before they can file another complaint against the Vice President in case the 19th Congress fails to finish the impeachment process for lack of material time.
Gonzales, who was the majority leader when the House impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011 under the Aquino administration, cited the Supreme Court’s ruling that an impeachment complaint is deemed initiated once the House plenary refers the complaint or consolidated complaints to the Committee on Justice.
Defensor said he was also hoping that the Senate will stick to its schedule of beginning the trial proper on July 30, as earlier announced by Escudero.
Pimentel clarified that Marcos had nothing to do with the change in schedule. Neither did the chief executive convince lawmakers to defer the impeachment trial.
Escudero said the change in schedule was also to give way for the Commission on Appointments meeting to confirm the appointments of the heads of various agencies.
Pimentel said convening the Senate as an impeachment court at 9 a.m. of June 3 will not make a dent on the legislative calendar of the upper chamber since they conduct sessions at 3 p.m.
“We have an impeachment court calendar and a legislative calendar. Our legislative calendar says that we must act (to tackle measures) at 3 p.m. He (Escudero) originally scheduled the convening of the Senate into an impeachment court at 9 a.m. (of June 3). So, it will not eat up time from our legislative calendar),” he added.
He said the CA can also have its meetings on Wednesday (June 4), and on the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until the 19th Congress adjourn sine die on June 13.
He said the Senate convening into an impeachment court is necessary at the soonest possible time so the Senate president can issue orders or directives to the Clerk of the Impeachment Court so it can start sending out summons to Vice President Sara Duterte.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Pimentel said he believes that all activities can be done starting on June 2 with the proper time management.
“If he thinks that 9 a.m. schedule is not enough, then we make it 8 a.m. What I want to say is that I or we are not expecting trial action. There will be no cross examinations because even in the original calendar of the Senate president, the trial action will be done in the 20th Congress, that will be for July. So, it is just a simple matter that’s why I am wondering why he deferred it,” he said.
He said the Senate has lost eight days with the delay in the formal presentation of the Articles of Impeachment.
He also said the Senate convening as an impeachment court on June 3 will be “keeping with the spirit of the Constitution” which states that the upper chamber shall proceed “forthwith” with the trial.
Pimentel said proceeding immediately with the impeachment trial will also be fair to the impeached official to determine whether he or she will continue with his or her work or not.
