The possibility of an impeachment trial for Vice President Sara Duterte may be in jeopardy if Senate President Chiz Escudero fails to secure Senate jurisdiction over the case before the end of the 19th Congress, according to former Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna.

Escudero has insisted that the phrase “shall forthwith proceed” in the Constitution does not require that the trial start before the succeeding 20th Congress.

While Azcuna conceded that a reasonable delay is within the bounds of the constitutional requirement to begin the impeachment trial, he pointed out that the failure of Escudero to take action for the Senate to acquire jurisdiction of the House articles of impeachment will void the process.

The House of Representatives last 5 February impeached Vice President Duterte and immediately transmitted the complaint to the Senate. Over 200 congressmen, more than one-third of the number required under the Constitution, supported the move.

Thereafter, Escudero said the impeachment trial of the Vice President would start after the third State of the Nation Address (SoNA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July.

Escudero, nonetheless, said the impeachment court will convene on 2 June, denying allegations the Senate was causing the delay of the impeachment trial.

He said senators cannot proceed with the trial during their break as the impeachment court should be convened during their session.

Azcuna responded to Escudero’s assertion by saying that the provisions of the Constitution on the impeachment process and the removal of specific public officials are not found in the Article on Legislative Power (Art. VI) but in the separate Article on Accountability of Public Officers (Art. XI).

“It follows that the procedures mandated under this Article on Accountability are not constrained by matters of legislative calendars providing for periods of recess and temporary adjournments from the work of legislation under Article VI,” according to the retired magistrate.

Article XI provides that once the complaint or resolution of impeachment, signed and verified (meaning under oath) by at least one-third of the members of the House, is filed, it constitutes the Articles of Impeachment, and a trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.

“So even if the senators are on legislative recess, they have to convene, take the required oath or affirmation, and proceed to trial. There is no need for a call. The provision of Article XI is the call. It is in fact and law an order,” Azcuna said.

Based on Azcuna’s view, the task assigned to the Senate by Article XI of the Constitution is the exercise of a power altogether different from the legislative power.

“It is, in my view, a constituent power. It is thus not subservient to the norms and constraints of legislative processes. It is governed by the sovereign mandate of the Filipino people as conferred and spelled out in Article XI,” Azcuna stressed.

Since the House of Representatives is not a continuing chamber like the Senate, the impeachment complaint lapses after the 19th Congress and the process must be restarted after the one-year prohibition under the Constitution.

“The presiding officer (Escudero) should have at least taken his oath (as head of the Senate court) after receiving the complaint, informed the House that it had been received and directed the naming of the prosecutors, then the trial proper can follow five months later,” Azcuna pointed out.

He said the Senate can take jurisdiction in the remaining six days of the 19th Congress when it convenes on 2 June. “As long as all of the signatories of the House complaint are still there, the Senate can take jurisdiction.”

Azcuna added, “Escudero, after all, has been advising his colleagues in the Senate not to discuss the impeachment case to avoid accusations of prejudgment.”

However, the mystery remains as to why Chiz has not taken his oath to initiate the process, as required by the Constitution.