Legislative agenda should give way to Duterte’s impeachment trial

Senate Minority  Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III believes that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should be a priority over the Senate’s legislative agenda, under existing rules. — File photo from Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines— Senate Minority  Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III believes that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should be a priority over the Senate’s legislative agenda, under existing rules.

According to Pimentel, there is a provision in the impeachment rules that, he said, directs the Senate to prioritize impeachment proceedings when both legislative and impeachment matters occur simultaneously.

The rules on impeachment can be found under the Senate rules posted on its website.

Pimentel, a lawyer, later pointed to Paragraph X of the impeachment rules, which reads:

“At 2 o’clock in the afternoon, or at such other hour as the Senate may order, of the day appointed for the trial of an impeachment, the legislative business of the Senate, if there be any, shall be suspended, and the Secretary of the Senate shall give notice to the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to proceed upon the impeachment trial of ______________________, in the Senate Chamber.”

Based on his reading of the said provision,  the legislative agenda should give way to the impeachment trial.

“Ganyan ang spirit ng impeachment. You give it priority kasi nga sabi ng Constitution e tapusin nyo  na agad yan. Mag trial na kayo para matapos na,”  Pimentel said in a phone interview with Senate reporters.

(That’s the spirit of impeachment. You give it priority because, as the Constitution says, you need to resolve it quickly. Hold the trial so it can be finished right away.)

Earlier, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero himself scheduled the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte by the House of Representatives’   panel of prosecutors on June 2.

And on June 3, the Senate would have already convened as an impeachment court.

But Escudero later  moved  the presentation of  the Articles of Impeachment to June  11  “to allow the Senate to tackle priority legislative measures before the 19th Congress adjourns.”

READ: Presentation of impeachment articles vs VP Sara moved to June 11

The 19th Congress will adjourn sine die on June 14.

Pimentel said he plans to question in the plenary on Monday why Escudero had to change his impeachment calendar.

It was just last February 14 when the Minority Leader wrote a letter to Escudero asking the Senate to act “forthwith” on the impeachment case of the Vice President.

READ: Pimentel tells Escudero: Acting fast on Duterte’s impeachment is Senate duty

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on February 5, but it has yet to be formally presented in the plenary.

Asked then if the delay in the impeachment proceeding was not only violative of the Constitutional provision but also of the Senate rules, Pimentel answered in the affirmative.

“Yes especially, the spirit kasi  hindi pa kami naka- convene e. Pero if you read the rules ganun yun,”  he said.

(Yes, especially the spirit behind it, since we haven’t been able to convene yet. But if you read the rules, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to work.)

“Huwag ka matakot na meron kang legislative agenda kasi anticipated na ng rules yan na in case you can’t manage your time anymore because you have legislative agenda and you have impeachment agenda, ang dapat mag give way should be the legislative agenda,” the senator stressed.

(Don’t be afraid of having a legislative agenda, because it was already anticipated in the rules that in case you can’t manage your time anymore because you have a legislative agenda and you have an impeachment agenda, it’s the legislative agenda that should give way.)

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated