House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, the lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, believes the Senate can start holding the proceedings even if Congress is on a break. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines聽 鈥� House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, the lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, believes the Senate can start holding the proceedings even if Congress is on a break.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Libanan said that the prosecutors signed a motion asking the Senate to issue summons against Duterte as early as March 14, but they refrained from submitting it to the Senate because Congress is on recess.
However, they submitted the motion after the Senate committee on foreign conducted a hearing to discuss former President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 arrest as it gave them an impression that the Senate was working despite the Congressional break.
鈥淲e filed a motion for entry, with motion to issue summons sa Senado.聽 Ito po ay tungkol sa pag-file ng House ng impeachment noong February 5, laban sa ating Vice President Sara Duterte.聽 At pinirmahan po namin ito noong March 14 na entry with motion to issue summon, pero hindi namin kaagad ifinile dahil ang tingin po namin ay break nila,鈥� Libanan told reporters.
(We filed a motion for entry with a motion to issue a summons to the Senate about the House鈥檚 impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte on February 5. We signed our entry with a motion to issue a summons on March 14, but we did not immediately file it because we think they are on a break.)
鈥淪inasabi nila baka hindi sila makapagtrabaho dahil break na 鈥榶ong Senado.聽 Pero apparently nagkaroon po sila ng hearing last Thursday noong committee ni Senadora Imee (Marcos), ibig sabihin nagta-trabaho pa rin po ang Senado.聽 Kaya ngayong araw ay ifinile po natin itong entry with motion to issue summons,鈥� he added.
(They say they cannot work because the Senate is on a break.聽 But they had a hearing last Thursday under the committee of Senator Imee (Marcos), which means they are still working.聽 That鈥檚 why we filed our entry today with a motion to issue a summons.)
Earlier, Libanan and 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez 鈥� another prosecutor 鈥� filed the motion asking the Senate to require Duterte to file an official answer regarding the articles of impeachment sent to the chamber last February.
READ: Solons ask Senate to order VP Duterte to answer the impeachment raps
In the motion, the prosecution panel cited Rule VII of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials dated March 23, 2011, which states that a writ of summons should be issued against the official impeached by the House.
The prosecution team said the impeachment rules are still applicable since there is a provision stating that they will be in force until they are amended or repealed.
However, aside from these, Libanan said that this motion also means that the House prosecutor team is ready to start the trial.
鈥淎nong ibig sabihin ito?聽 Una ay pinahahayag po namin na handa, nakahanda po ang House kahit po ngayon ay panahon din ng kampanya po namin [鈥聽dahil inatasan po kami na maglitis, maging prosecutors ay gagawin po namin ang aming tungkulin,鈥� Libanan said.
(What does this mean?聽 First, we are stating that we are ready, that the House is prepared to start the trial even now that we are in the campaign period because we have been tasked to participate in the trial as prosecutors, and we will do our jobs.)
鈥淎t ayon po sa rules of impeachment ng Senado, 鈥榩ag mayroong nai-file sa Senado na impeachment complaint,聽the Senate shall start the proceedings forthwith.聽 Simulan kaagad anong ibig sabihin ng forthwith, without delay, right away without delay,鈥� he added.
(And under the rules of impeachment of the Senate, since we have filed the impeachment complaint, the Senate shall start the proceedings forthwith.聽 Forthwith means starting the trial immediately, without delay, right away without delay.)
Duterte was聽impeached聽by the House last February 5, after 215 lawmakers filed and verified a fourth聽impeachment聽complaint, hinged on several issues like the alleged confidential fund misuse, threats to ranking officials including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and conduct unbecoming of a Vice President.
The articles of impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate, as the 1987 Constitution requires a trial to start forthwith if at least one-third of all House members 鈥� in this case, 102 out of 306 鈥斅犅爃ave signed and endorsed the petition.
READ: House impeaches VP Sara Duterte, fast-tracking transmittal to Senate
However, the trial has yet to start as the articles of impeachment were not forwarded to the Senate plenary before the session ended on February 5 鈥� which means that Congress would have to reconvene first after the election season, or through a special session to discuss the matter.
Senate President Francis Escudero has said that the trial would start by July 30 鈥� with the new set of lawmakers after the 2025 midterm elections sitting as senator-judges.
Several House lawmakers 鈥� including members of the prosecution team 鈥� previously said that while they respect the Senate鈥檚 stand on the matter, they believe that the impeachment trial should start at the soonest possible time.