[Rappler’s Best] Dead or alive?

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‘Would the Supreme Court go as far as saying, perhaps we committed some overreach, the impeachment is no longer void — and then, er, remand the case to the Senate?’

In a show of numbers and a portent of things to come in the upper chamber, the Duterte bloc-led Senate archived the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte last Wednesday, August 6.

It means it’s dead, said Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto.

Two days before the Senate vote, the House of Representatives asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision that nullified Duterte’s impeachment, insisting it did not violate the constitutional one-year bar when it impeached her.
In the meantime, said a group of lawyers, academics, and citizens led by former SC justices Antonio Carpio and Conchita Carpio Morales in a separate petition before the Court, the justices should order the Senate to suspend any action on the impeachment.
What did the Court do a day after? It issued a press statement reiterating to everyone concerned that its unanimous decision in favor of Duterte was “immediately executory.”

It’s as if the Court, not content with throwing a lifeline to senators who were against trying Duterte in the first place, wanted to provide more ammunition to them: in case of doubt, remember, do not proceed.

In various interviews and social media posts, lawyers still seemed to cling to some hope. While they conceded that the Senate vote added to the “complications,” they said all is not lost, citing the pending petitions with the SC.

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the gods of Padre Faura give a token mea culpa — such as acknowledging factual errors in its verdict, or even holding oral arguments to listen to the other side. How could that put the impeachment trial back in play?

The power to convene the Senate into an impeachment court lies with the Senate itself, and numbers do not lie: The impeachment bloc does not have the vote.

In the 24-person chamber, seven senators are what we’d call solid Duterte allies (for now), or 29% of total members. They are senators Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta, Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, and siblings Mark and Camille Villar. Add Senate President Chiz Escudero (whose hold on the presidency is tied to this bloc) to make that eight.
Eleven other senators, however, joined the vote to archive the articles of impeachment purely on the basis of their political fortunes or inherent aversion to accountability, which are as permanent as the sun rising in the east. As Joey Salgado wrote, they lost more than their balls through this action.
Beyond this, there’s also no clear signal from Malacañang on the matter; these senators didn’t think they were harming their ties with the President when they voted to bury Duterte’s impeachment.

Given this, would the SC go as far as saying, perhaps we committed some overreach, the impeachment is no longer void — and then, er, remand the case to the Senate? The same Court that, unprovoked, reminded senators that its decision was immediately executory?

I have doubts, but happy to be proven wrong. Because we all share Teacher Rubilyn’s frustration here: the dribbled Duterte impeachment is battered beyond recognition. As Vergel Santos wrote, “I did because I could.”

Various sectors have been so shaken by it that they likely missed the other telenovela, this time featuring Duterte vs Duterte in The Hague. Watch Lian Buan take it apart with more than just tea.

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