House to rewrite impeachment rules, anchor process on Constitution

The House of Representatives will rewrite its impeachment rules to anchor them firmly on the Constitution and the intent of its framers, rejecting claims of grave abuse of discretion while stressing respect for, but not subservience to, Supreme Court (SC) “suggestions,” House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz R. Defensor of Iloilo said Monday.

“We don't have to assert our independence. Our independence is laid down by the law,” Defensor, a lawyer and chair of the Committee on the Rewriting of the House Rules, said in an ambush interview.

Defensor underscored the principle of separation of powers, saying no branch of government should encroach on the authority of another.

He said the Legislative Department should not encroach on the Judicial Department, and the Judicial Department should likewise refrain from intruding into the affairs of the Executive and Legislative branches.

“I don’t see a clear sign of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the rules of the House of Representatives,” Defensor said, stressing that existing procedures adhere to constitutional doctrine.

“It follows the intent of the Constitution, especially when it comes to the initiation of impeachment complaints,” he added.

Defensor said he was troubled by what he described as judicial suggestions on how the House should interpret its internal processes.

“It bothers me that they are dictating how we interpret our session days. It bothers me that they are suggesting how we should proceed with impeachment referral especially if impeachment complaints endorsed by all members of the House of Representatives. Hindi na dapat sina-suggest ng Supreme Court kahit iginagalang natin sila kung paano ipo-proseso,” he said.

The lawmaker said the ongoing rules rewrite will be guided first and foremost by the Constitution.

He said the House will respect the Supreme Court ruling and ensure that the revised rules are aligned with both the Constitution and the intentions of its framers.

“Let's leave the session days as it is but for impeachment complaints we will follow the Supreme Court that a session day is a calendar day without expressly saying that in the House of Representatives rules on impeachment,” Defensor said.

“Mas malinaw lang ang ating magiging Rules on Impeachment as well as our internal procedures, we will make it more definitive para mas malinaw ang intention ng Constitution at framers ng Constitution,” he added.