Escudero rejects VP post if Sara ousted: Denies bias, prejudgment

Senator Francis Escudero has ruled out succeeding Vice President Sara Duterte if she is convicted in her impeachment trial, saying it would be improper to assume an office left vacant by a verdict he helped deliver.

Escudero, who serves as presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court trying Duterte, said no offer had been made. But if such an offer is made, he stressed that his refusal would be a personal decision, not a restriction on other senator-judges who could be nominated to fill the vacancy.

“I will not accept for a simple reason: conflict of interest. We made the decision; that would not be right,” Escudero said in a podcast interview.

Under the Constitution, the President nominates a replacement vice president from among members of Congress, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, voting separately.

Some netizens pointed out that Escudero may have already prejudged the case, something which he flatly denied. “If I had already made a decision without hearing the other side, then perhaps you could tell me that I was unfair and biased,” he added.

“My simple answer is yes,” Escudero said when asked whether he had been fair, “because I have not made a decision yet.”

Escudero acknowledged complaints from prosecutors that he had been tougher on their witnesses, but said the prosecution bore the burden of proving the allegations against Duterte. He said the defense would face the same scrutiny when it presents its evidence.

Latitude

The senator also defended his decision to give fellow senator-judges latitude in questioning witnesses, despite concerns that some appeared to favor either the prosecution or the defense.

“I have not failed to remind them that their decisions should be based on the law and evidence,” he said. “Still, there is an effort to ensure that each senator-judge remains impartial and balanced.”

The impeachment court earlier allowed House prosecutors to withdraw three of the four articles against Duterte, leaving the allegation of unexplained wealth as the sole remaining charge.

Duterte’s defense has sought to rebut evidence presented on the withdrawn charges, arguing that the allegations remain on the trial record despite their withdrawal.

Escudero maintained that he would reserve judgment until both sides had been heard.

A conviction of Duterte requires a two-thirds vote of qualified senator-judges, or 14 votes if 20 senators are deemed eligible to participate.