House faces Senate ‘contempt’ if impeachment order ignored
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, may be compelled to invoke its contempt powers should the House of Representatives refuse to comply with its order that momentarily put on hold the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the court’s newly designated spokesperson said on Friday.
Lawyer Reginald Tongol said that Rule VII of the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials authorized Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, acting as presiding officer of the impeachment court, to cite anyone in contempt for acts that may be viewed as “disrespect of the court.”
Escudero policy
A check made by the Inquirer showed that such authority was actually spelled out in Rule V, not Rule VII, of the Senate impeachment rules, which the chamber had adopted for the trial of then impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.
“The (Senate impeachment) court has motu propio power to issue contempt orders without any party raising a motion,” Tongol told an online press conference.
“The presiding officer and the court itself can actually cite anyone in contempt for disrespect of the court. However, (Escudero) does not want a strict application of the provisions of the impeachment rules, especially regarding the public and open discussion of matters that occur during the impeachment (hearing),” he said.
According to Tongol, this was also the reason why the Senate chief did not use his power to issue gag orders on individuals directly involved in Duterte’s impeachment trial, including senator-judges who were openly defending the Vice President.
“Usually in judicial proceedings, the litigants are not allowed to speak (on court cases) because that violates the sub judice (rule),” he noted.
Still for deliberation
“But that’s not the policy of (Escudero) as presiding officer because he believes in the open and free discussion of matters so that the public would be able to learn and freely discuss issues (related to the impeachment),” he added.
Tongol stressed that the decision of the Senate impeachment court sending the articles of impeachment back to the House was an “official order.”
On the other hand, he said the resolution directing the House to certify that it did not violate the constitutional provision banning the filing of more than one impeachment case against a government official within a one-year period was intended to avoid a constitutional crisis.
The impeachment court also directed the House of Representatives to submit a resolution showing that it would still pursue the impeachment complaint against Duterte in the 20th Congress.
“To prevent that from happening, the impeachment court did its due diligence and returned (the impeachment complaint) to House,” Tongol said.
When asked if only the House prosecutors or the entire membership of the chamber would be the subject of a possible contempt charge, Tongol replied: “Of course, this (could be) the first time that it might happen. So we don’t know yet what would be the action of the impeachment court.”
He said that it was possible that senator-judges would deliberate first on who should be cited in contempt for disobeying their order.
Word war
“Will it be the entire House, Speaker (Martin Romualdez) or the just the House prosecutors? That will be discussed by the impeachment court,” he said.
At the Batasang Pambansa, the House’s new spokesperson has stepped up to defend Speaker Martin Romualdez in the ongoing word war with the Vice President.
On Friday, lawyer Princess Abante defended the House’s “ayuda” (aid) programs, arguing that it was better to help the poor than steal money from public coffers—in an apparent jab at Duterte who is now facing impeachment for her alleged misuse of confidential funds.
“At least aid gets to the people and does not end up in his pockets,” she said in a statement. “This is not like confidential and intelligence funds that could be spent in just a matter of days without explanation, without proper breakdown.”
‘Ayuda’ politics
“If helping the hungry and the sick is foolish for some, we’d rather be called ‘tambaloslos’ (vernacular for useless) than ‘kawatan’ (thief),” she added.
Romualdez has come under fire for his supposed ayuda politics in what critics said was a bid to galvanize support for future political plans.
Abante clarified that the assistance extended to indigent Filipinos is aboveboard, with clear processes, documentation, and direct beneficiaries.
“There are receipts, clear processes, and direct beneficiaries for these programs and are not injected in personal bank accounts,” she said. —WITH A REPORT FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
