MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile has warned his colleagues against amending the rules of impeachment, saying it will just delay the proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
“If we’re going to open on May 9 and the first matter we will discuss is to amend the rule that will entail a debate among members the Senate and it will take time,” Enrile told a weekly forum in the Senate on Thursday.
“And once we agree to amend the rules, we will have to republish [it again],” he said.
Enrile was reacting to Senator Francis Pangilinan’s proposal to amend the rules to allow the senators, who will act as judges in the impeachment trial of the Ombudsman, to vote every after hearing the arguments and evidence of each article of impeachment.
The rules provide that the Senate acting as an impeachment court can only vote after hearing all six articles of impeachment contained in the complaint against the Ombudsman. Only one guilty verdict by the court was enough to oust the Ombudsman.
But Enrile believes that Pangilinan’s proposal will not only delay the process, but will also expose the senators to pressure when the court adopted the proposed amendment in the rules.
“You would know now the position of each senator with respect to the respondent. You would know who are voting against he or in favor her and there are many pressure groups watching….so I’d like to avoid that,” he further said.
Enrile acknowledged that the Senate might not be able to finish the trial when it goes on sine die adjournment on June 9.