Pressure is mounting for Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero to begin the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as questions have intensified over his reluctance to immediately start the proceedings.

Since Escudero has continued to insist there is no public call for the Senate to start the impeachment trial, which he said should begin when Congress reconvenes on 2 June, former Senate president Franklin Drilon said the Constitution and not a clamor should be the basis for his decision.

“What is provided in the Constitution is that the impeachment will have to be heard immediately, the exact wording of which is that the trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed,” Drilon said.

The constitutional provision in the Charter does not say there must be a clamor for a trial.

“I respect the opinion of the Senate President, but in my opinion, what forthwith means is that the impeachment trial should be started immediately,” Drilon said.

The moment a special session is called by the President, the first item on the agenda should be the impeachment complaint, he pointed out.

Drilon said he does not expect the Supreme Court to intervene in the impeachment process in keeping with the separation of powers between the branches of government.

Lawyer Howard Calleja, a co-petitioner in the complaint filed in the Supreme Court in connection with Duterte’s confidential funds, said, “Nabudol tayo ni Chiz (We were fooled by Chiz). “

He noted the Senate calendar was supposed to end on 7 February, but it adjourned on 5 February without taking up the impeachment complaint in violation of the Constitution.

Escudero adjourned the Senate session with two days to go.

He proposed to take up the complaint on 2 June, later saying it will be taken up in late July after the President delivers his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) and when the 20th Congress convenes. The complaint was submitted to the Senate by the 19th Congress.

Calleja claimed Escudero made the House secretary general wait for about an hour before he received the articles of impeachment.

“Roughly an hour later, at around 7 p.m., the Senate adjourned,” Calleja said.

“We have to look at the culpability of Mr. Escudero for this constitutional breach,” he said.

It was questionable that “instead of taking up the complaint, Escudero immediately adjourned the Senate,” he added.

“Why the unconstitutional rush? Who benefited from Chiz’s premature adjournment? Definitely Sara, because there would be a lot of legal questions that could potentially kill the impeachment complaint under the 20th Congress,” Calleja pointed out.

Calleja insinuated a possible foreign involvement. “Is China, which is interested in controlling Philippine politics, too far behind? What is the benefit to Chiz, who is known to be interested in the 2028 presidential elections?”

Put another way, he said, did Chiz put the public interest and potentially the country’s national security interest at risk?

In an email to Daily Tribune, Calleja said: “Just when we are talking of billions of pesos being lost to corruption, just when Sara threatened to have the President and the First Lady killed, which would have created unimaginable national instability, here he is trying to foist on us a scenario calculated to kill the impeachment of Sara Duterte. Chiz would not do this without benefiting himself.”

Prosecs: Don’t wait for protests

The Senate should not wait for public protests before initiating the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte, the House prosecutors said Friday.

Ako Bicol Rep. Angelo Jil Bongalon, a member of the prosecution team, said the Senate is constitutionally mandated to proceed with the trial immediately after receiving the articles of impeachment, regardless of the public sentiment.

“Whether there is a public clamor or not, the Constitution mandates us to act. It is the Senate’s duty to convene as an impeachment trial court,” he told reporters in a virtual press conference.

“It does not mean that just because there is a public clamor or rallies on EDSA or elsewhere that we will act,” Bongalon said.

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, another House prosecutor, said Escudero should have considered the process.

“With all due respect to the Senate President, the House members are on the ground. I myself and the other congressmen can attest that a lot of our constituents are waiting for the Senate to convene as an impeachment court.”

Luistro said she acknowledged the authority of the Senate but the public clamor should not be ignored.

“At the end of the day, we always recognize the authority of the impeachment court. And, of course, that is the Senate of the Philippines, specifically, the 23 senators. With all due respect to the Senate President, we have a different opinion on the matter,” she said.

She continued, “We did our duty. We followed the rules. We upheld the Constitution. Now, it is time for the Senate to do theirs.”

No Senate jurisdiction

Retired SC Senior Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, had warned that the House’s effort to impeach Duterte would go to waste if the Senate fails to acquire jurisdiction over the case before the new Congress takes over.

He said the Senate could only take jurisdiction if Escudero takes his oath as the presiding judge of the impeachment tribunal. When this happens, the trial can continue even if the House’s composition changes in the 20th Congress.