Frequently asked questions on VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial

Can the Senate hold an impeachment trial during the break? Can the President call a special session? Should the Supreme Court step in? Here’s what legal experts say.

TThe 19th Congress wrapped up its session without proceeding to a full impeachment trial for Vice President Sara Duterte.

Are the impeachment proceedings already over? Rappler answers the frequently asked questions.

Why did the Senate return the impeachment complaint to the House?

Senators approved Senator Bato dela Rosa’s motion to remand the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives on June 10. Dela Rosa argued that Duterte’s impeachment proceedings in the House violated the 1987 Constitution.

Duterte’s allies in the Senate originally wanted the case dismissed, but many of their colleagues were hesitant to junk the articles without even going to the full trial proper and hearing the arguments of both the prosecution and defense. The compromise, facilitated by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, was to send back the impeachment articles so that the House could certify that the case did not circumvent the Constitution.

Senators Risa Hontiveros and Win Gatchalian, as well as their graduating colleagues Koko Pimentel, Nancy Binay, and Grace Poe were the only lawmakers who voted to reject Dela Rosa’s motion. 

Why is the Duterte camp insisting that the Vice President’s impeachment violated the Constitution?

Dela Rosa’s assertion echoes Duterte’s petition filed before the Supreme Court in February. The Vice President argued that her impeachment violated the so-called one-year bar rule of the Constitution that only one impeachment proceeding can be initiated against an impeachable official in a year. 

Duterte insisted that the House deliberately sat on the first three supposed weak impeachment petitions filed in December to make way for a fourth, stronger impeachment complaint that garnered the support of two-thirds of the House in February. She believes the act of delaying the referral of the petitions itself constitutes an initial action on the complaints, triggering the impeachment process.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), lawyering for the House, argued that the House has constitutional authority to set its own rules on impeachment.

It said the House can introduce a step before its constitutional mandate of referring the petitions to the Speaker takes effect, to ensure that lawmakers would not suspiciously endorse weak impeachment complaints, knowing they would be easily dismissed — ultimately shielding the impeachable official. 

The OSG pointed out that the first three impeachment complaints against Duterte were not referred to the justice committee, so those did not trigger the “initiation” of the impeachment proceeding.

Is the move to remand the impeachment complaint unconstitutional?

Voting against the motion to remand, Senator Hontiveros said sending back the impeachment complaint to the House is not in the Constitution and sets a dangerous precedent. Gatchalian believes the merit of the argument on the impeachment articles’ unconstitutionality should be discussed in the full trial. 

Some constitutional lawyers whom Rappler spoke with also believe that the remanding of the case has no legal basis. 

Amando Virgil Ligutan, lawyer for the third group of impeachment complainants, insisted the House’s transmission of the impeachment articles is already the certification that the Senate is asking for. 

University of the Philippines law professor Paolo Tamase said the Senate’s move “violates constitutional structure” because “the House and the Senate are constitutionally equal.”

Senate President Chiz Escudero, however, doesn’t see it that way, believing that the Senate and House are not co-equal on matters of impeachment, since the Senate serves as the court, while the House acts as the prosecution.

The House prosecution panel would not collectively say that what the Senate did was unconstitutional, but it’s the sentiment of at least one member, Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua. 

What will the House do?

The House is seeking clarification from the Senate. Before it adjourned sine die on June 11, it passed a motion saying it won’t accept the remanded impeachment articles until the impeachment court satisfies its questions.

The House, though, already satisfied one of two conditions set by the Senate in its motion: it certified the impeachment articles as constitutional.

What the House finds impossible to comply with for now is the second requirement by the Senate, that the House of the 20th Congress express its desire to proceed with the impeachment trial.

“20th Congress doesn’t even exist yet,” Batangas 2nd District Representative Jinky Luistro said. 

Can the House reject the Senate’s remanding of impeachment articles? Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan said the House would comply if it would not compromise the prosecution’s strategy. He added that the lower chamber would rather be cooperative with the Senate than combative.

Can the full trial still happen in the 19th Congress?

It’s very unlikely for a full trial to commence in the 19th Congress, given that the 19th Congress cannot comply with the second condition stipulated by the Senate in its motion.

The Senate’s move, therefore, guarantees the further delay of the trial. 

Is the impeachment trial dead?

Senator Hontiveros is worried that the move to remand the case is tantamount to a functional dismissal of the proceedings. 

Escudero insisted that it is not, since Duterte was issued with a writ of summons, essentially notifying her that she has been sued and instructing her to respond to the allegations. The House prosecution panel welcomed the move, as it believes this is proof that the trial is still alive.

Whether or not the 20th Congress will proceed with the trial is another complicated discussion. That would be up to the next batch of senators. After voting to remand the impeachment articles to the House, Duterte-allied senators said the case should not be carried over to the 20th Congress.

There is also a months-long debate on whether impeachment can cross from one Congress to another, and there is no consensus on the matter. Representative Luistro, however, believes that the second condition forwarded by the Senate is “implied admission” that the impeachment articles can be tackled by the 20th Congress. – Rappler.com