Carpio-Morales, Drilon debate on whether SC can touch impeachment matters

The Supreme Court (SC) can decide on petitions involving impeachment matters on certain conditions, including allegations of grave abuse of discretion, retired SC Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales said on Wednesday.

"For as long as the question is not political but there is grave abuse of discretion on the part of the respondent and or there is an actual controversy that involves demandable rights, the Supreme Court can step in," Morales said during a forum on Emerging Issues of the Impeachment hosted by the UP College of Law amid the pending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

"Under the expanded mandate of the Supreme Court, the SC comes in if there is an actual case and it involves demandable rights or grave abuse of discretion," Morales, who also served as the Ombudsman during the tenure of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, added.

But for former Senate President and Justice Secretary Franklin Drilon, petitions concerning impeachment is a political question that the SC cannot and should not touch.

"The Supreme Court should leave the Senate alone. Can the decision of the impeachment court be appealed to the Supreme Court when the Senate has the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment," Drilon said, referring to the Constitutional provision on the impeachment process.

Morales then quipped, "Are you sure there is abuse of discretion?"

She added, "If the impeachment court commits grave abuse of discretion, why should we not step in?"

Drilon, who served as a senator judge during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada and former Chief Justice Renato Corona, then let out a smile and replied, "because the remedy is not to elect those senators."

Morales also smiled before replying, "You tell that to those who are electing senators."

The Vice President’s camp earlier asked the Supreme Court to void the impeachment complaint filed against her by at least 215 members of the House of Representatives for being illegal for the following reasons:

• the House committed grave abuse of discretion when it deliberately froze action on the first three impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Duterte which were never forwarded to the Office of Speaker, in this case, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, as provided by the House Rules 
• the fourth impeachment complaint signed by 215 House members as complainants violated the Constitution's one-year ban on filing impeachment complaints since the House already took action on the three initial complaints by not forwarding them to the Speaker's office. 

The seven Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President accused her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes based on the following:

• conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;
• malversation of P612.5 Million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• bribery and corruption in the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure by handing out cash to former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Procurement Head), Bids and Awards Committee Member Resty Osias, DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan and Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda;
• unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth where her wealth increased by four times from 2007 from 2017;
• involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder efforts, which include: boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself "designated survivor," leading rallies calling for Marcos' resignation, obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas, threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez, among others; and,
• the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land.

—LDF, GMA Integrated News