Senate should continue impeachment trial even if VP Sara resigns, says prosecutor

The Senate, which will sit as the impeachment trial court, should consider allowing proceedings to continue even if Vice President Sara Duterte resigns so that a possible conviction and penalty of disqualification from holding public office can still be imposed, a lawmaker said Sunday.

Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, a member of the 11-prosecution panel of the House of Representatives, made the call after Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero stated that they intend to review and update the rules and procedures on impeachment, citing loopholes discovered during the trial of the late former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011.

The Senate rules on impeachment, according to Escudero, have not been updated since then.

“Let's see the effect of the resignation under the updated rules on impeachment that the Senate will do,” Defensor said in Filipino in an interview. "I hope that the impeachment trial will be allowed to continue because if a high-ranking government official is morally, mentally or psychologically unfit if proven, then [trial] must continue, and she will be convicted of perpetual disqualification from holding public office.”

Administration allies have accused Duterte of being mentally incapacitated following a series of sensational meltdowns last year, including imagining decapitating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and her supposed threat to have the chief executive killed alongside First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

These “serious and grave offenses” were among the grounds why Duterte was impeached on Wednesday, with 215 House members, or more than double the required 1/3 votes (102 signatories), signing the seven articles of impeachment.

Supporters of Duterte have suggested that she step down from the post to prevent a possible conviction that could block her presidential ambitions. But the unfazed VP insisted that she had not yet considered that option.

The Senate will need a two-thirds vote, or at least 16 of the 24 sitting senators, to convict Duterte. If convicted, she will be perpetually disqualified from holding any public office in the future.

However, Defensor, a lawyer, explained that if Duterte resigns before conviction, then there would be no need to remove her from office.

Disqualification still possible 

Lawyer and constitutional professor Antonio “Tony” La Viña said that while such a process could be moot and academic, the Senate impeachment court could still convict and perpetually disqualify Duterte if she resigns.

“If the official resigns before conviction, the process may become moot and academic, meaning there would be no need to remove someone who is no longer in office. But the officer can still be convicted by the impeachment court and a penalty of disqualification to hold public office may still be imposed against the official,” La Viña wrote in his Facebook on Thursday. 

Assuming that Duterte steps down, he also made it clear that Congress may decide whether to continue the proceedings since the articles of impeachment, outlining Duterte’s impeachable offenses, have already been filed in the Senate.

No pressure, please

Escudero has maintained that the Senate would only act on the impeachment complaint on 2 June, or when Congress reconvenes after the 12 May elections. He argued that he would not allow the chamber to be rushed to convene when the House itself fell short and “sat” on the petition for two months.

“We won’t rush it, but we will not delay it either. We will not allow ourselves to be pressured by anybody. We will do our job according to the Constitution and the Senate rules,” Escudero lamented. 

Further, he said that holding a trial during the congressional break “legally cannot be done” since the impeachment complaint, which will serve as the basis for the impeachment court to be convened, was not referred to the plenary before Congress adjourned on Wednesday.

Defensor, however, asserted that this shouldn’t be the case.

He contended that since the Senate had already received the articles of impeachment before Congress adjourned, it is no longer a legislative body but an impeachment court.

"Congress and Senate went on break because our legislative calendar has ended… But an impeachment process is a unique process. The lawyers call it sui generies: a class of its own,” Defensor said.

He added, “It does not depend whether Congress or Senate is in session or not because it is stated in our Constitution that a trial shall proceed with fort because if a high official has committed a wrongdoing, the trial must be started to stop it.”

Nonetheless, Defensor said they would respect the decision of the Senate. He also clarified that the House will never seek President Marcos’ assistance to call for a special session to expedite the process because Congress is an independent body.

All set

According to Defensor, the House panel of prosecutors is already preparing for the impeachment trial, including the presentation of documentary evidence. He also implied “that there will be many witnesses” against Duterte.

Meanwhile, in the event that some of the House prosecutors fail to win in the mid-term polls as re-electionists in the 20th Congress, they could still stand as private prosecutors pending approval of the impeachment court.

Duterte said she had yet to read the charges against her, but her “legal team is preparing the defence and (deciding) what we will do moving forward.” She also refused to confirm whether her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, would still be part of her lawyers.

Based on the seven articles of impeachment filed by the House, Duterte allegedly committed a betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes—all impeachable offenses provided by the Constitution except for treason.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco disclosed that 25 additional lawmakers intend to take an oath before him today, Monday, to officially list themselves as complainants to the articles of impeachment.

This would potentially bring the total number of petitioners to 240, or more than 80 percent of the 306-member House of Representatives.