Poll campaign not reason to delay VP Duterte impeachment trial 鈥� lawyer
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal. —黑料社 file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Campaigning is “not a reason to delay” the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, as the 1987 Constitution mandates the trial “shall forthwith proceed” once the impeachment was filed in the upper chamber, according to election lawyer Romulo Macalintal.
Macalintal likewise said that campaigning would not be a “valid excuse for the present Senate to pass on to the new Senate its constitutional duty” to forthwith or immediately start without delay the proceedings.
“The fact that half of the 24-sitting Senators are ‘already busy campaigning’ for the 2025 elections is not a reason to delay the impeachment proceedings against Duterte because campaigning is not part of the job description of any senator whose term of office has not yet expired,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
READ: VP impeachment trial: Tolentino sees SC battle on ‘forthwith’
“Campaigning is not a valid excuse for the present Senate to pass on to the new Senate its constitutional duty to forthwith start the said impeachment case because the incoming senators of the new Congress are not bound by the acts and deliberations of their predecessors,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementMacalintal argued that if the case should be taken up by the Senate under the 20th Congress, then “it is doomed to fail.”
Article continues after this advertisement“This is so because the very rules of the present Senate, (Section 123, Rule XLIV) provide: 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,” the lawyer explained.
“Can’t the present Senate understand? Its own rules mandate that this impeachment case against Duterte, which is now in the Senate’s hands will be deemed terminated meaning, it will die its natural death upon the expiration of the present Congress on June 30, 2025,” he further noted.
And if the case is indeed handled by the upcoming Senate, Macalintal pointed out that the case will be treated “as if it was filed the first time.”
“Hence, a violation of the constitutional provision: No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year,” he said.
“The sterling opinion of Supreme Court (SC) Justice Antonio Carpio, which was fully quoted by the SC in deciding the 2008 consolidated cases of Garcillano vs. HOR and Javier vs. Senate, cannot be ignored in that ‘it is optional on the Senate of the succeeding Congress to take up such unfinished matters, not in the same status, but as if presented for the first time,’” the lawyer added.
Last February 6, Senate President Francis Escudero said that holding an impeachment trial “legally cannot be done” as the complaint was not referred to the plenary to establish a basis for convening the impeachment court by the Senate, which had been serving as a legislative body.
Escudero explained that for an impeachment court to be convened, there would have to be an ongoing session in the chamber. He said this would allow impeachment judges to take their oath.
He said this will happen on June 2 once the session resumes after this year’s midterm elections.
On February 5, the lower chamber confirmed that 215 lawmakers signed the fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte.
