Senate break not reason to defer VP impeachment trial 鈥� Monsod
Christian Monsod (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — “No, that’s not an excuse.”
This was the remark of former Commission on Elections Chairman Christian Monsod when he was asked in a forum on Friday if the Senate session break is an excuse to delay the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte last February 5 for violating the 1987 Constitution, graft and corruption, alleged misuse of confidential funds, and betrayal of public trust.
The impeachment complaint reached the Senate on the same day. The Senate adjourned its session, however, on the same day without discussing the Articles of Impeachment.
Monsod, one of the framers of the Constitution, cited Article XI, Section 3, which states that the “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed” once it receives the verified impeachment complaints.
He then pointed out the definition of “forthwith” in the dictionary, which says “immediately.”
Monsod also said that an impeachment should not be treated as a legislative but a special task.
“They must proceed immediately. Why? Because the purpose of the provision is to protect the people from the people they have elected who have violated the public trust,” Monsod noted.
“The purpose is not to punish them. It is to protect the people, and that’s why it must be interpreted [as] immediately,” he added.
He also emphasized that not protecting the people would be an encouragement to violate the Constitution.
“I think they’re giving all kinds of excuses because those excuses are not really reasonable… Of course, there have been so many impeachment charges already. The senators — they acted as judges in this trial. There are already rules, they just have to clean it up, if they want, or amend [them]. That should not take one month,” Monsod said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero revealed earlier that no impeachment trial could be conducted during the Congress break “because the impeachment court was not convened.”
Previously, Escudero noted that an ongoing session in the Senate would be needed for an impeachment court to be convened.
In a proposed calendar for the impeachment trial released by the Senate chief, the start of the trial is being eyed for July 30, 2025.
