An overhaul of the impeachment rules looms as the House of Representatives seeks to anchor it firmly in the Constitution and the intent of its framers, following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding the rejection of the process to oust Vice President Sara Duterte.

The chamber rejected claims of grave abuse of discretion while stressing respect for, but not subservience to, Supreme Court (SC) “suggestions,” House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo said Monday.

“We don’t have to assert our independence. The law lays down our independence,” Defensor, a lawyer and chairperson of the Committee Rewriting of the House Rules, said in an ambush interview.

Defensor said there is a separation of powers wherein no department should bypass another.

He said the Legislative Department should not encroach on the Judicial Department, and the Judicial Department should not encroach on the Executive and the Legislative Department.”

Separation of powers dictum

“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 in stressing the doctrine of separation of powers.

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

“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 the impeachment referral, especially if all members of the House of Representatives endorse impeachment complaints. The Supreme Court, while we respect it, should no longer be suggesting how the process ought to be carried out.”