New delay in impeach trial raises concerns
Representative-elect Leila de Lima on Friday said she was concerned that the postponements by Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero of the start of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could ultimately scuttle it.
In the latest postponement, Escudero announced on Thursday night that he had moved the reading of the impeachment complaint against Duterte before the Senate from June 2, when Congress resumes session, to June 11.
He justified the rescheduling by citing the need for both the Senate and the House to “prioritize the passage” of 12 “priority bills” before the current Congress adjourns on June 13. Members of the 20th Congress formally take their seats on July 28. (See related story on this page)
De Lima, who has been selected to be one of the 11-member House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial, cited the first delay when Escudero refused to convene the Senate into an impeachment court shortly after the House sent its impeachment complaint against Duterte to the Senate on Feb. 5.
Leadership call
With the recent statement from President Marcos that he didn’t want the impeachment to push through, “we can’t help but connect the dots that there might be a possibility that they will be in fact killing the impeachment trial,” De Lima told the Inquirer.
Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega on Thursday, expressed a similar concern, likening Escudero’s decision to being “stood up by a date.”
“As we always say, it’s in the hands of the Senate,” he told reporters. “This is a leadership call … but we are indeed concerned about the time element. Just a few months ago, even a few weeks ago, there was already a set timeline only for this to happen again.”
Ortega said they had no choice but to accept Escudero’s reasons for the postponement.
De Lima also sees a scenario where the senators, when they convene on June 11, would vote on whether to allow the impeachment proceedings to cross over from the 19th to the 20th Congress.
“And it’s not going to be a reach to imagine that the majority would say, ‘No, this cannot cross over,’” she said. “That’s why I can’t help but say that they seem to be sending signals that they’re no longer going to proceed with this, which is so bad.”
Escudero, a lawyer, has already said that it’s possible for Duterte’s impeachment to cross over to the next Congress even if the complaint was filed in the previous Congress, citing jurisprudence affirming that the Senate was a continuing body and that impeachment was not a legislative function and therefore doesn’t expire with each Congress.
De Lima, a former senator, agreed with Escudero on this, adding that impeachment was a “special duty, constitutional duty of Congress” that is separate from its lawmaking function.
“So the Senate rules which are ordinarily applicable to the other proceedings in the Senate, cannot apply for impeachment, because it is sui generis, one of a kind. That is precisely why there is an entire chapter in the Constitution that dwells on this,” she said.
Sotto’s take
Senator-elect Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who is a contender for the Senate presidency in the 20th Congress, is less optimistic about continuity.
He cited Section 123 of the Rules of the Senate which states that “all pending matters and proceedings shall terminate upon the expiration of one Congress but may be taken up by the succeeding Congress as if presented for the first time.”
If the senators do vote to thumb down continuity, the House prosecutors could challenge that in the Supreme Court, De Lima said. And if the Senate votes to proceed with the trial, Duterte could also challenge that in the high tribunal.
In either case, this would be decided by the Supreme Court but would extend the delay in the impeachment trial, she said.
“That’s why these delays are important to keep watch, because they could be a signal for what is happening,” she said.
Whether there are compromises being worked out and there is “haggling” for the Senate leadership and whether the impeachment is being used somehow in choosing the next Senate President “should not be important,” De Lima said.
“It’s still about respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. The only way they can show respect for the Constitution and the rule of law is to proceed with the trial,” she said.
De Lima suggested that senators should not prematurely decide to quash the impeachment trial based on their perception of the “public pulse.”
Koko: 8 days wasted
“The right time to gauge public pulse is during the impeachment trial itself when the evidence is being laid out. How can people have an informed view of how important and crucial it is that the impeachment trial should proceed if that never happens?” she said.
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III was also critical of Escudero’s decision to postpone the start of the impeachment trial, saying it was constitutionally flawed and flouted the Senate’s own rules.
Pimentel had previously insisted that the impeachment trial should commence “forthwith” as mandated by Article XI, Section 3, of the 1987 Constitution. He also opposed Escudero’s earlier decision to convene the Senate impeachment court after the legislative break.
“It’s not right,” Pimentel told reporters by phone. “In my own view, it is not in the spirit of (the constitutional provision) which states that the ‘trial (by the Senate) shall forthwith proceed.’”
“Those eight days will just be wasted,” he said.
According to him, Escudero did not consult him regarding the matter, but only told him about it when they attended the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting in Malacañang on Thursday.
Others as surprised
Six other senators, who all asked not to be identified in deference to Escudero’s authority as Senate president and as presiding officer of the impeachment court, said they were also surprised with the sudden change in schedule.
Pimentel noted that Section X of the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials clearly stated that the “legislative business of the Senate, if there be any, shall be suspended, and the Secretary of the Senate shall give notice to the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to proceed” with the impeachment trial.
“Maybe (Escudero) just forgot that there is a section in our existing rules that if the Senate schedule is full, we have to prioritize the impeachment (trial),” he said.
Win, Jinggoy agree
“That’s the spirit of our rules,” Pimentel argued. “We should not be afraid if we have a (full) legislative agenda because our rules anticipated it already.”
Escudero has not replied to the Inquirer’s request for comment.
Both Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada backed the Senate leader’s decision to focus on the priority bills before tackling Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Estrada said the primary duty of the Senate was to make laws.
He also dismissed De Lima’s concerns and statements as “grandstanding.”
“She always believes in rumors,” Estrada said. “We are not going to abandon our constitutional duty to hear the impeachment case against the Vice President.”
