Escudero says prudence the better part of valor amid calls to convene impeach court

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Friday stood firm that there is no legal basis for the Senate to convene for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Escudero made the position after his colleague and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and 1-Sambayan member Howard Calleja called out the Senate for allegedly violating the Constitution when it did not convene the impeachment court right away.

Both Pimentel and Calleja had said that the Senate should immediately start the trial Duterte noting that Article 11 Section 3.4 of the 1987 Constitution states that, “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

“I disagree with him (Pimentel) that we can start a trial during the recess when we are not in session by simply agreeing among ourselves to do so. This may bring our actions into question before the courts,” Escudero said.

“Prudence, as they say, is the better part of valor,” Escudero, who had said that the impeachment trial of the Vice President can only start a day after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s SONA on July 28, added.

Further, Escudero dismissed Calleja’s take as partisan and did not deserve consideration.

“As I have stated before, I will not dignify nor listen to partisan legal opinions or positions for or against the impeachment of Vice President Duterte,” Escudero said.

“I will follow the law and what I believe to be right and fair,” Escudero added.

Pimentel had said that dragging the impeachment to as far as July is violative of the Constitution.

“That timeline is too far from February 5 when the impeachment complaint was filed [by the House of Representatives]. That is almost four months. That is not compliant with what the Constitution says and will result in unnecessary criticisms against the Senate because we are not fulfilling our mandate,” Pimentel said. 

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

“We have a strong legal basis in acting upon the impeachment complaint. Rule 10 of the Senate Rules on Impeachment [also] states that “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, etc.," Pimentel added.

Calleja, meanwhile, said that Escudero is committing a “constitutional breach” with his position.

“Nabudol tayo ni Chiz. (We are being deceived by Chiz). Just when we are talking of billions of pesos being lost to alleged corruption, just when [Vice President] Sara threatened to have the President and the First Lady killed which would have created unimaginable national instability, here he is trying to foist on us a scenario calculated to kill the impeachment of Sara Duterte,” Calleja said.

“My question to Chiz is: you are a lawyer and forthwith is a simple English term. Who are you loyal to?,” Calleja added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News