3 weeks ago
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Cecille Suerte Felipe - The Philippine Star
February 20, 2025 | 12:00am
Koko writing 2nd letter
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis Escudero is sticking to his timetable for starting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, unmoved by calls, including a letter from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to start it immediately.
Escudero said Duterte would be provided with a copy of the impeachment complaints after June 2, when Congress resumes session and the Senate convenes and establishes an impeachment court.
“After June 2, if the rules authorizing me to issue a summons and a copy of the complaint are approved. She just needs to wait for the Senate’s rules to be properly in place, and then they will receive enough time to respond to the impeachment complaint once they are served with a summons,” Escudero said yesterday.
“In fact, a lawyer claiming to represent VP Sara wrote to request a certified true copy of the complaint. The secretariat’s response will be that we have uploaded it to the website because, in our view, we are not in a position to issue a certification for the impeachment since the House of Representatives prepared it. We merely accepted it, so if she wants a copy, she should request it from the House, but a copy is available on the Senate’s website,” he added.
Careful on changing impeachment rules
Unfazed by calls to start the impeachment trial, Escudero said the Senate is careful on making changes to the impeachment rules as the chamber makes preparations for the proceedings.
“One of the things we are studying is that if we change the rules in a way that affects the substantive rights of the current defendant, VP Sara, she might complain that the changes were made just to target her and be used against her,” Escudero said.
“This is one of the considerations in our rule changes; we will only modify what needs to be changed without affecting Vice President Duterte’s current rights. We will take that into account. However, I must emphasize that whether we use the old rules or the new rules, the Senate must be in session, and Congress must have a session before we can convene an impeachment court,” he noted.
Preparations
Escudero noted that they are preparing for the proceedings, for which a meager budget of P1 million has been allocated.
Escudero said they are already looking for a supplier and canvassing for robes. “We are working on the system for visitors, IDs for both parties and also for guests who want to watch in the Senate. We are organizing that system now,” he noted in Filipino.
“It’s actually small, I think, excluding lawyer fees so there’s no set amount. We probably won’t spend even a million,” Escudero said.
He added that the Senate is considering hiring practicing lawyers and a law firm to assist senators with legal matters related to the impeachment, though the plan has not yet been finalized.
He disclosed that he turned down the initial proposal to provide meals for all the parties involved in the impeachment trial, saying each party could provide for their respective provisions. The witness stand from the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona will be reused for the proceedings against Duterte.
Escudero added the Senate will not respond to the petition of Duterte’s allies asking the Supreme Court to direct the Senate to cease and desist from conducting the trial of the Vice President. Instead, he said he had already tossed the matter to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
Koko to write 2nd letter
Even without public clamor, the majority of senators should pressure Escudero to immediately start the impeachment trial of the Vice President, according to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III.
In an interview with “Storycon” on One News on Wednesday, Pimentel said he will write a second letter to Escudero to further remind him of the Senate’s mandate under the Constitution.
“We don’t need (any public) clamor. What we need to do is follow the mandate of the Constitution. Clamor or no clamor, all senators are expected that they understand what is in the Constitution,” Pimentel said in Filipino.
“The Constitution does not say that the Senate should be in session as a legislative body to conduct an impeachment trial… On the Senate rules on impeachment, we recognize that the impeachment should be a priority over its legislative function. It was very clear in the rules,” he added.
“We should pressure the Senate President to call a session of senators as an impeachment court,” he said.
Pimentel said his second letter would elaborate on their duty to immediately start the trial even if Congress is on legislative break.
He said Escudero has not communicated with him personally in response to the first letter. — Janvic Mateo, Jose Rodel Clapano, Marc Jayson Cayabyab
