Senate chief pressed to start VP Sara’s trial
Pressure continued to mount for Senate President Francis Escudero to follow the 1987 Constitution and to convene the Senate as a court immediately to tackle the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
This time, former lawmakers and Liberal Party stalwarts Erin Tañada and Leila de Lima reminded Escudero that the Constitution mandates the upper chamber to convene as a court after receiving the articles of impeachment “forthwith”—and not to base his decision on public clamor.
Vice President Sara Duterte has herself asked the Supreme Court to nullify an impeachment complaint against her, making her first legal move to fight the case that could lead to her removal and lead to a lifetime ban from public office.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on Feb. 5 on accusations such as budget anomalies, amassing unusual wealth and an alleged threat to the lives of President Marcos, the first lady and the House Speaker.
The Vice President has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the move to impeach her, amid a bitter rift with Marcos, was politically motivated.
In her petition to the Supreme Court, Duterte argued that the House committed “grave abuse of discretion” when it “deliberately circumvented” a constitutional safeguard against more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year.
“This political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards … with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office,” she added in her petition.
Duterte also asked the court to stop the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment trial, which Escudero said could start in June, following mid-term elections in May.
The 24 senators of the upper house will serve as jurors in the impeachment trial that could lead to Duterte’s removal from office and a lifetime ban from public posts, which would kill off any hope of becoming President.
The Senate received the fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte on Feb. 5, after 215 lawmakers voted to charge her of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
‘Forthwith means immediately’
“The best act is still to comply with the explicit mandate of the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear under Article 11, Section 4, Paragraph 3, that as soon as the articles of impeachment is filed with the Senate, trial shall forthwith proceed. Very clear, categorical, and equivocal terms. Shall means mandatory. Forthwith means immediately, at once,” De Lima said.
“Of course, it will always run the risk of the issue being elevated to the Supreme Court. But that’s par for the course, we can expect that people would question that. But what is important is to abide by what the Constitution really says, you cannot go wrong,” she added.
De Lima, an election lawyer and one of the petitioners in the first impeachment complaint, said the Senate could even run the risk of being challenged for delaying the trial.
There is already a petition for mandamus before the Supreme Court seeking to compel the Senate to start the trial.
Tañada reminded Escudero that “the Constitution does not contain the word clamor.”
“What is clear, shall, forthwith. So that gives discretion to the Senate when it will start. But since the word that was used was shall, it’s a command. So, I don’t know, with all due respect to Senate President Escudero, I don’t know when he will actually proceed with this or he will just wait for the Supreme Court to decide the cases,” he added.
De Lima and Tañada are the first and second nominees of Mamamayang Liberal party list competing in the upcoming midterm elections.
