Senators clash over Sara's impeachment trial

Is the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte still valid as it crosses into the 20th Congress?

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel on Monday clashed over this issue as the Senate resumed session after a three-month break for the May midterm elections.

This came after Tolentino said the impeachment trial of Duterte could no longer proceed due to constitutional and procedural limitations.

Citing Supreme Court rulings (Neri v. Senate and Balag v. Senate) and Senate rules, Tolentino argued that the Senate under the 1987 Constitution is “not a continuing body.”

“Under the 1987 Constitution, the Senate of each Congress acts separately and independently of the Senate of the Congress before it. Only 12 senators remain after each election, insufficient to form a quorum,” he said.

“Thus, unlike the Philippine Senate under the 1935 Constitution, we cannot carry unfinished proceedings into the next Congress,” he added.

Tolentino, a lawyer, said that allowing the 20th Congress to take over Duterte’s trial would be “ultra vires,” or beyond the Senate’s constitutional power.

“Jurisdiction over impeachment is exclusive to the Congress that receives the complaint,” he said.

He further noted that if the Senate does not conclude the trial against Duterte before June 30, the impeachment complaint would be considered “functionally dismissed.”

The terms of senators and House members elected in 2019 and 2022 will end at noon on June 30 June.

Pimentel, also a lawyer, countered that while the 1987 Constitution contains no provision stating an impeachment complaint may carry over, it also does not prohibit it.

“As to the question of whether the impeachment trial conducted by the Senate in the 19th Congress can ‘cross over’ and continue into the 20th Congress, there is no provision in the 1987 Constitution or in the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials that expressly prohibits it,” he said.

“On the contrary, the Senate Rules on Impeachment support the position that the impeachment trial shall continue until final judgment, even if it is necessary to continue into the next Congress,” he added.

He continued: “Hence, it is my humble opinion that the trial of the current impeachment case now pending before this Senate of the 19th Congress can ‘cross over’ or continue from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress. The impeachment docket of the Senate continues and remains the same.”

Pimentel also questioned the postponement of the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte to 11 June, the last session day of the 19th Congress.

In response, Senator Francis Escudero cited Article 1 of the Senate Rules on Impeachment, which states that the Senate President may set the schedule for the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment.

Earlier, Escudero moved the presentation from 2 June to 11 June to allow the Senate to pass priority measures approved by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council.

The presentation of the Articles of Impeachment is the first step to initiate impeachment proceedings in the Senate.

Once presented in plenary, the Senate can constitute itself as an impeachment court and begin the trial of the Vice President.

Earlier in the day, Senator Risa Hontiveros emphasized that the 1987 Constitution “demands that the Senate continue with the impeachment proceedings already initiated without further delay.”

“This is a solemn mandate of the Constitution — clear and unambiguous — once we receive the Articles of Impeachment, ‘trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed,’” she said.

“The people will judge us if we fail to fulfill this duty to the nation,” she added.