No limits on what impeachment court can or can’t decide — Escudero
Impeachment court presiding officer, Senate President Francis Escudero (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)
MANILA, Philippines— There are no limitations on what the impeachment court can or cannot decide, its presiding officer, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, asserted on Monday.
Escudero disagreed with retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio’s opinion that returning the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives was irregular, but not unconstitutional.
“I respect his opinion, but I do not agree. There are no limitations on what the impeachment court can or cannot decide,” he said in Filipino.
He cited the Constitution, which specifically states that the Senate has the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.
There was also nothing in their rules or even in the rules of court that prohibits any senator-judge from making such a motion, the Senate chief also said.
“Any motion can be filed and voted on by the impeachment court. There are no limitations,” he pointed out.
Voting, 18-5, on June 10, the impeachment court granted Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s motion to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House until the latter certifies that it did not violate the one-year ban on filing an impeachment case; and that the House of the 20th Congress commits to pursue the case against the Vice President.
READ: Remand-artix-of-impeachment
It was an amendment to Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s original motion to dismiss the case against Duterte, saying that the House circumvented the one-year ban on impeachment complaints.
“Can he point to or cite anything that says this motion is prohibited in the impeachment court? That it’s forbidden for any impeachment court judge to request this? There’s none,” Escudero went on, still referring to Carpio.
“And let me repeat, although he is a former member of the Supreme Court, he is not among those who will decide whether the impeachment court acted rightly or wrongly — and as far as I know, no case has been filed before the Supreme Court to question that, at least not yet,” he added.
Escudero reiterated that anyone who thinks that the Senate or the House violates the Constitution is free to question it before the Supreme Court.
