Senate ignoring ‘partisan’ impeach calls — Escudero

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Sunday reiterated that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. needs to convene the upper chamber to a special session so they can move forward with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte while Congress is adjourned.

Escudero upheld his position after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, along with many others before him, argued that the trial could continue even during the session break.

“That seems new... The Senate can’t call a special session on our own. There’s a process, a procedure, and grounds that need to be followed before calling a special session. It’s not something that can be done just like that,” Escudero said.

The Senate President also lamented that “those caucuses, coffee breaks, meals, lunch, breakfast, dinner, are not special sessions that can create an impeachment court.”

Pimentel previously wrote a letter to Escudero, urging him to adhere to the Constitution by calling a caucus to discuss the impeachment trial against Duterte.

Escudero said he has yet to discuss Pimentel’s proposal but emphasized that Duterte’s impeachment should be treated the same as previous cases, without any special considerations.

“Well, to begin with, Senator Pimentel and I haven’t spoken yet. It seems like he prefers writing rather than calling. We haven’t talked yet. I’ve only received one letter, and I’m supposed to receive a second one soon, but not his second letter yet,” he pointed out.

Escudero maintained the Senate would not be swayed by partisan views.

“Whoever speaks with a partisan stance, whoever voices an opinion that aligns with a position — whether in favor of or against the impeachment, in favor of or against VP Sara — we won’t pay much attention to them because they are partisan,” he said.

He reiterated that the House of Representatives sat down for two to three months to tackle the impeachment complaints.

“They (House members) let three impeachment complaints sit for over two months. But their rules state ‘immediately.’ So if their definition of ‘immediately’ is over two months, then so be it. But they shouldn’t apply a different standard to the Senate when it comes to using the word ‘forthwith,’” he added.

Escudero stressed the Senate would adhere to the provisions of the Constitution.

“We will follow the Constitution, the law, and what we believe is right. Not what is dictated by partisans or those who already have their own positions regarding the impeachment,” he said.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua countered Escudero’s statement, saying that House members needed ample time to study the impeachment complaints.

“Before the filing of the fourth impeachment complaint, the House first ensured that the evidence we will file is solid. And then, of course, we also see to it that we would not violate what we call the one-year ban,” Chua countered in Filipino.

Barking at the wrong tree

“Because if we just file it [without examining it], then it might be a useless case that may be dismissed because we can’t prove it [in court],” he added, pointing out that it’s more difficult to establish the case rather than just hear it.

House prosecutors and Escudero have been trading barbs over the latter’s reluctance to swiftly begin the trial and by insisting that proceedings will only start when the 20th Congress takes over, or after the new batch of lawmakers — 12 in the Senate — are sworn in.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on 5 February, the last session day of Congress before it went on a four-month recess for the election campaign season.

Critics have speculated that the Senate’s hesitation to deal with the impeachment has something to do with the election, particularly for those gunning for re-election who want to play it safe.

Since the impeachment gained traction, several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court: either to block the Senate’s looming trial or compel the chamber to constitute itself into an impeachment court and conduct the proceedings.

However, former Senate President and former Justice Secretary Franklin Drilon argued that the petition praying for the high court to order the Senate to convene is “baseless” and shall be “dismissed because the SC has no power over the Senate.

“They are barking up the wrong tree. SP Chiz can’t do anything. Even if he wants to, if the President doesn’t have a call, he can’t call to convene a special session to consider the impeachment complaint,” Drilon said in an interview.

“The ball is in the President’s court unless he also does not want to convene the impeachment court,” he stated.

“If he doesn’t call a special session, then [the trial] won’t really start, and Congress won’t be able to fulfill their power to convene as an impeachment court until after the time they come back in June after the election,” he continued.

According to Drilon, the Senate or the House cannot meet outside the calendar that they have approved, but the Constitution, if necessary, allows and authorizes them to hold meetings that are not called by the President.

After his bitter falling out with the VP, Marcos has since distanced himself from the impeachment discussion and said that he would only call for a special session if asked by the Senate.

The articles of impeachment were anchored on Duterte’s alleged plot to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed, as well as the purported misappropriation of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office and the Department of Education during her tenure as its secretary.