Category: impeachment

“Extra-constitutional musings”

Until now, the Senate has been savaged by lawyers, law deans, law students and even plain housewives for allegedly failing to do what the Constitution commands. Some of them may have even begun to believe that an extra-constitutional option would be a better alternative. By going to trial now, and making sure the trial works, the Senate could effectively put these extra- constitutional musings to rest and reassure the nation that the impeachment process still works and should be given a chance. There would be no need to mobilize public sentiment, as some sectors seem to believe they should be doing, in favor of some costly alternative. https://www.manilatimes.net/

That’s from “The Senate and its discontents” by former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, one of the 11 who refused to open the second envelope, circa Erap. Interesting that he brings up the notion of “an extra-constitutional option” — meron nga ba? Parang wala.

If in the 20th Senate, the VP’s allies have enough votes to manage to dismiss the case without convening as an Impeachment Court, on whatever grounds, a walkout by the opposing Senators, even if supported by The People (as in Edsa Dos) would not necessarily compel the VP to resign. And even if she were to resign, she could still run for president in 2028 even if she may be guilty of betraying public trust atbp.

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Thanks to former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban for calling out the Senate in his column today: “Senators, do you know where the impeachment proceeding is going to?”

To the Supreme Court where the 20th Congress and the lawyers may delay and scuttle it till forgotten by our people?

To the waste basket, never mind the people’s cry for accountability (credible polls say that a vast majority—from 78 to 88 percent—of our people want accountability and transparency)?

To embarrass the VP who expressed a desire to clear her name via due process from her alleged maltreatment by the HOR?

To the battle in July 2025 for the election of the senate president of the 20th Congress who would thereafter preside over the reconvening of the IC?

To be fair, I did not identify the senator-judges alluded to though readers could name them based on what they saw and heard during the live coverage of the IC sessions, and on printed media reports. I leave it to their discretion as elected public officials to retain the public trust by answering the questions in the song popularized by the chanteuse Diana Ross. https://opinion.inquirer.net/

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And then my YouTube algo came up with a Doris Bigornia phone interview of Senator-elect Tito Sotto who has changed his tune, now agrees that the Impeachment Court continues into the 20th Senate. BUT he’s saying that it’s the Chief Justice who should be the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court, as when a president is impeached, because the VP’s office and duties are more like the president’s, or something like that. Also, that if the VP is impeached, it’s the Senate Prez who becomes Acting VP until the prez appoints a new one, which means “ikaw pa ang tratraidor sa papalitan mo” … a confict of interest for the SP, who can also be replaced even while the prez has yet to appoint a new VP,  or something like that. https://www.youtube.com/

For a very brief moment there, it sounded reasonable, but is it even possible to have the Chief Justice preside in the VP’s impeachment without amending the Constitution?  I emailed CJ Panganiban forthwith and here’s his reply, also forthwith:

The Constitution provides that the Senate President presides except when the President is the respondent in which case the CJ presides. There is only one exception, we cannot add another whether by our wise judgment or by far fetched logic.

So there. Which brings me back to “extra-constitutional musings” and how to get the DDS allies in the Senate to behave as honorable senators should, like recuse, or restrain themselves until we’ve all heard all of the evidence. How ironic that we succeeded in removing two presidents but can’t do anything about a Senate that threatens to acquit an impeached vice president without a trial.

Bato bato picks (Chiz loses)

I take it all back. No more giving SP Chiz Escudero the benefit of the doubt. There is just no defending or excusing the way he entertained Senator Bato‘s motion to dismiss the verified impeachment complaint on grounds that it violated the one-year ban, which was eagerly endorsed and helped along by Senator Alan Peter, both even claiming to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. E di wow.

As Senator Risa Hontiveros clearly pointed out:

… if there is a motion to dismiss the case, it should come from the camp of the vice president, and not from a senator-judge.

“A motion to dismiss is not found, hindi po ito nahahanap, itong motion to dismiss, sa rules of impeachment na literal kaa-adopt lang natin. At kung meron man, hindi senator-judge ang magraise noon, pero ang defendant. Si Vice President Sara Duterte ang magre-raise niyan. Higit pa po, naniniwala ako na hindi tayo pwedeng kumilos unilaterally sa dismissal ng impeachment complaint nang hindi pa natin naririnig ni isang salita mula sa prosecution,  ni isang salita mula sa defense, tungkol doon sa di umanong constitutional infirmities ng impeachment complaint. Ang due process ay nagre-require na bigyan natin pareho ang prosecution at ang defense ng oportunidad na madinig sa bagay na ito,” Hontiveros said. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/

Nakagalit din na hinayaang “mag-abogado” para sa VP sina Bato, Imee, Go, at Robin, with their privilege speeches about “more important things”, taking their oath “with reservations”, and some, Imee, Robin, and Cynthia Villar, refusing to wear the judges’ gowns.

I seriously wonder how Presiding Officer Juan Ponce Enrile (circa Corona) would have handled these brats.

Meanwhile, BRAVO to the five senators who stood tall against the “remand”:  Risa, Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, and Win Gatchalian! May your tribes increase!

In defense of SP Chiz #Jun11

I’ve been trying to figure out why SP Chiz decided it was a good idea to put off for June 11 the convening of the Senate as impeachment court. Alam naman niya, at alam din natin, na siguradong pipigilan ito ng Duterte bloc, given the signals from the VP’s senator allies.

Could it be that he decided to put it all off for the last day of session para wala nang panahon for long plenary debates, time only to call for a vote (if at all) to “de facto” dismiss or not? meanwhile, quietly racking up enough votes against dismissal, while in the public sphere legal experts and constitutionalists happily explain and expound and lecture across media platforms on the Senate’s constitutional mandate to proceed with the impeachment trial, no ifs or buts?

Ang importante lang naman ay ang masimulan ng 19th Senate ang impeachment trial para maituloy ito ng 20th Senate. Ito na rin mismo ang say ni former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna sa kanyang Facebook post of June 7.

As long as Senate President Escudero gets to start the process before the 19th Congress lapses … when the term of office of Representatives and outgoing Senators end, he will have done well. All he needs is to get the Articles read to the Senate and served on the Respondent. That will trigger the Senate’s jurisdiction over the case. The Senate in the 20th Congress can continue the process of proceeding with the trial.

… The Articles of Impeachment received by the Senate in the 19th Congress will not lapse with that Congress but will be carried over to the 20th Congress because Trial of Impeachment Cases is not a function of Legislative Power but it is a Constituent Power. It is lodged on the Senate specifically not under Art VI on Legislative Power but under Article XI on Accountability of Public Officers. So it does not fall under the rule that unfinished business lapses with the outgoing Congress because the Constitution says the opposite— that the trial must “proceed” meaning it must continue until it is finished. It cannot proceed if it is made to lapse. Since it must proceed, it follows that it does not lapse.

Sana talabán na rin, at mataúhan, ang mga tulad ni senator-elect Tito Sotto, the non-lawyer who’s gotten very critical of Chiz, and who can’t seem to get past Art VI — kailangan daw ay tinapos o natapos ng 19th Senate ang impeachment trial bago mag-adjourn sine die, kebs niya sa Art XI.

Hindi rin totoo ang say ni Sotto na SP Chiz “bushwhacked” anything. Sabi nga ni Pocholo Concepcion: 

Tito Escalera: Chiz ‘bushwhacked’ VP impeachment complaint
Bushwhack as a transitive verb means to attack by surprise. Parang mali ang gamit e.
Sana ‘ignored’ na lang, para maintindihan naming mga alumni ng Wanbol University. #IskulBukol https://www.facebook.com/pocholo.concepcion.

Which drew this painfully hilarious comment from Bobbit Mariano:

Wala na pong textbook ang School Bukol on Philippine Constitution, binili lahat ng Senate dahil ngayon pa lang sila mag-babasa. May exam daw kayo, sabi ni Miss Tapia, on Article XI, specifically expounding the meaning of forthwith, at Essay exam on what is the meaning of public trust, sa Lunes June 9-11, ma-ngongopya na lang daw si Richie the Horsie. Naka-pag review na si Red ford White, nang hiram ng libro.

Yeah, reminds of the Escalera brothers. I’m actually surprised that Tito Sen doesn’t seem to know better than to be so cocksure. Already on social media meron nang nagpaalala na he was among those who voted with dancing queen Tessie Oreta and 9 others to not open the second envelope in the Erap trial. Oo nga, ayon din sa Wikipedia. He was for Erap then. Is he for Duterte now? Kaabang-abang.

Impeachment is sui generis — precedents be damned

We thought the long wait for the impeachment trial was almost over, but suddenly we’re waiting some more, until June 11, the last day of the 19th Congress, so that the Senate can get legislative matters out of the way first daw. Hanggang sa dulo, walang proceeding “forthwith” LOL.

After listening to the back-and-forth of legal luminaries and former senate presidents and incumbent senators vs SP Chiz, from one news cycle to the next, viz a viz issues of jurisdiction and continuity, it seems to me that there would be no problem at all if the senators simply, truly, treat this impeachment case as sui generis, in a class of its own, regardless of precedents.

For some reason, the senators are insisting that they have to proceed in exactly the same ways as in previous impeachment cases. To wit, hindi puwedeng mag-convene as an impeachment court unless Congress is in session, as in the time of Erap and Corona. To wit, hindi puwedeng mag-cross over ang impeachment trial from the 19th to the 20th congress because it has never happened before.

Pero di ba, kapag sui generis, ibig sabihin, dedma sa precedents if any? Googling it, I found this:

STARE DECISIS and SUI GENERIS. The law favors consistency, which is why new cases are decided based on comparison to prior similar cases. This is the doctrine of stare decisis. The notion of legal precedent dictates that similar cases should result in similar court decisions.

Sometimes, however, a novel situation without precedent comes before our courts; such a matter would be regarded as sui generis, literally “of its own kind.” The term sui generis is used to describe a stand-alone thing or situation, something without precedent or comparison. The term can also be used to describe something that is peculiar or unique.. https://buteralaw.com/

Every impeachment case should be regarded as sui generis — stand-alone, without precedent or comparison. And, in fairness to the VP, without expectation that the result would be the same as, say, the Erap case or the Corona case.

For sure the Duterte bloc — Go, Bato, Robin, Imee — will try every trick in the book to stop the impeachment trial from proceeding, but for now I’m thinking positive, that more than a majority of Senators will stand strong and vote YES, let’s hear the prosecution’s evidence and the VP’s defense on all seven charges. Let the chips fall where they may.