Senate bet D’Angelo hopes Chiz won't use impeachment to be next VP

Bunyog Pagkakaisa senatorial bet David D’Angelo said Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero should not use the impeachment court as a “bargaining process” to be named the next vice president of the Philippines.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, D’Angelo said that due to the 1987 Constitution stating impeachments should be processed “forthwith”, the matter of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment should have been tackled within 24 hours after it was received by the Senate.

He added the impeachment court was the only way for Duterte to prove her innocence, as she is immune from being sued in any other courts while she is in office.

“Nakalagay doon ‘forthwith’. Ibig sabihin immediately without delay. There’s even a definition. It should be within 24 hours, so dapat tumatawag na ng impeachment proceedings si Senate President Chiz Escudero bago pa 'yan magamit as a defense of Sara Duterte na dinelay ninyo ito, kaya 'yong inyong impeachment process ay hindi niyo na dapat ituloy,” he said.

(It says there ‘forthwith’. This means immediately without delay. There’s even a definition. It should be within 24 hours, so Senate President Chiz Escudero should have called for impeachment proceedings before Sara Duterte’s defense could use it as an excuse that it was delayed, so the impeachment process could no longer proceed.)

During the Radyo Pilipinas interview, D’Angelo said he hopes Escudero would not use the Senate or the impeachment court as a bargaining process to land himself the vice presidential seat if and when it becomes vacant.

“'Pag naimpeach si Vice President Sara, (Once Vice President Sara is impeached,) then the position of the vice president will be clear [and] vacant, and the President can appoint whoever he likes to be the vice president… Huwag naman sana na ginagawa niya itong bargaining process for (Escudero) to be the vice president, (I hope he doesn’t use this as a bargaining process to be named the next vice president.)” he said.

Escudero said Tuesday the decision on the impeachment trial of Duterte can be rendered by October this year.

Meanwhile, D’Angelo said he believes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should call for a Senate special session for the impeachment but understands that the Chief Executive is trying to be neutral.

“We have to understand the position of the President. But If I am the President, I would call for a special session of the Senate. That’s the right thing to do. That's what the President needs to do,” he said.

D’Angelo also urged the public not to vote for businessmen in the coming 2025 polls to avoid turning politics into business.

“Politics is not a business. If you elect a businessman, then politics becomes business. Kaya wag po tayong mag-elect ng mga negosyante mayayaman at trapo, (That is why we should not elect businessmen and corrupt politicians.),” he stressed. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News

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