MANILA, Philippines — The transfer by the Senate to return the impeachment case towards Vice President Sara Duterte to the Home of Representatives has spawned grave constitutional questions and challenged the integrity of the impeachment course of, the Philippine Structure Affiliation (PhilConsa) stated yesterday.
In a press release, PhilConsa chairman retired chief justice Reynato Puno stated the transfer might represent grave abuse of discretion and dangers undermining the precept that public workplace is a public belief.
“The Accountability of Public Officers can’t be overstressed – and mustn’t ever be evaded by means of procedural artifice,” Puno stated.
He defined that the Senate’s jurisdiction as an impeachment court docket upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment can’t be misplaced or suspended by mere procedural acts because it stays in power till the ultimate decision or dismissal of the case.
Puno stated the remand order might have unlawfully suspended Senate jurisdiction already validly acquired as an impeachment court docket.
The transfer might have additionally encroached on the Home’s unique energy by requiring the Home to certify compliance with the one-year ban, he stated.
The imposition of recent necessities not discovered within the Structure or Senate Guidelines might also be a “circumlocutory system” meant to delay or defeat the trial, he stated.
“PhilConsa submits that no such requirement exists underneath the Structure or established impeachment observe. To create such a requirement ex put up facto undermines each the separation of powers and the rule of legislation,” Puno stated.
The group additionally raised concern about due course of and impartiality as a result of senators, as members of the impeachment court docket, had been those who raised attainable defenses on behalf of Duterte, he stated.
Puno urged the Senate to uphold its constitutional obligation and proceed with the impeachment.
“At stake is just not merely the destiny of 1 official, however the integrity of the Structure itself. Impeachment is the folks’s mechanism to implement Accountability of Public Officers. It should not be thwarted by procedural invention or partisan maneuver,” he stated.
In returning the case to the Home, the Senate requested it to certify its compliance with the Structure within the impeachment course of, and for the twentieth Congress of the Home to indicate its willingness to pursue the case.
Puno warned that any act or system that circumvents the Senate’s constitutional obligation to carry the impeachment trial “gravely imperils our democratic establishments.”
“The Filipino individuals are watching. The Structure instructions it. The significance of Accountability of public officers can’t be overstressed. Circumlocutory compliance with the Structure destroys the rule of legislation which is the bedrock of democracy,” he added.
Constitutional and legitimate
Speaker Martin Romualdez, who can also be Philconsa president, burdened in a speech Wednesday night time that the chamber’s transmittal of the impeachment criticism to the Senate was constitutional, legitimate and “what the Filipino folks really deserve.” He delivered his speech on the final session day as Congress adjourned sine die this week
“Let me converse plainly but with utmost respect. The Home acted not out of haste, however with deliberate care,” he stated.
“I rise – not in defiance – however with resolve, guided by obligation, grounded in precept. The choice of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court docket, to return the articles of impeachment is deeply regarding,” the Home chief stated.
“We act not for ourselves however for the nation, for each Filipino who hopes for clear, trustworthy governance. For each citizen who nonetheless believes that public workplace is public belief. Let historical past be a witness: the Home of the folks stood agency not in our place, however in conviction,” he maintained.
He stated the seven Articles of Impeachment towards Duterte had been transmitted by the chamber in accordance with the 1987 Structure and with the overwhelming help of 215 members “who answered the folks’s name for accountability.”
“This isn’t a political train, that is our constitutional obligation, that’s the reason we are going to proceed to maneuver ahead respectfully, however resolutely,” the Speaker stated.
He stated the Home is “not solely the voice of the folks, it’s a guardian of their belief when allegations come up that threaten public confidence in our establishments, our obligation is evident – to hunt the reality, to uphold transparency, and to demand accountability with out worry, with out favor.”
No formal certification but
In the meantime, a member of the Home prosecution panel – San Juan Rep. Bel Zamora – stated the chamber has but to transmit a proper certification affirming the constitutionality of the impeachment criticism towards Duterte.
The certification is meant to verify that the criticism met the constitutional necessities, together with the one-third vote of all Home members and the one-year ban on repeat impeachment filings.
Zamora argued that the act of transmitting the articles itself is already a sign of constitutional compliance.
“We adopted the foundations, we adopted the Structure,” Zamora instructed reporters. “The mere indisputable fact that we transmitted the Articles of Impeachment is already a certification in itself that we complied with the necessities,” she identified.
The Senate can also be searching for certification from the twentieth Congress that it will pursue the impeachment trial, a request Zamora stated couldn’t be fulfilled because the twentieth Congress has not but convened.
Regardless of the Senate’s transfer to return the articles pending certifications, Zamora identified that the higher chamber has already issued a summons to Duterte, a transfer indicating that it has already assumed jurisdiction over the case.
“That’s why we’re searching for clarification,” she stated. “We respect the Senate sitting as an impeachment court docket, however returning the articles after issuing summons doesn’t make sense. It’s not within the Structure.”
Zamora stated the Home prosecution panel is getting ready a movement for clarification on the Senate decision. She stated this could be accomplished within the coming days.
The prosecution panel continues to carry common conferences with personal legal professionals and Home secretariat members, Zamora stated.
“We’re officers of the court docket. We are going to comply with the impeachment court docket’s orders,” she stated. “However we want readability to keep away from being caught in procedural points afterward.”
Zamora additionally famous that Romualdez has given the panel the liberty to organize its case, with no particular directive issued following the Senate’s transfer to remand the articles. – Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano, Mark Ernest Villeza