Koko to Chiz: Senate must act on Sara Duterte's impeachment right away
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has called on Senate President Francis Escudero to act swiftly on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
With the House impeaching Duterte before lawmakers went on break, questions remain about how the Senate will handle the trial as the 19th Congress nears its end. Escudero has maintained that proceedings will start in the 20th Congress, when half the Senate will be replaced in July.
Use of 'forthwith.' Pimentel, however, believed that the law demanded that the Senate must act on the complaint without delay, noting the use of the term “forthwith” in the law.
“I write to emphasize the constitutional mandate requiring the Senate to act ‘forthwith’ on the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte, as provided under Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 4 of the 1987 Constitution: ‘In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House of Representatives, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall FORTHWITH proceed’,” Pimentel write in the letter dated February 14 but released to the media on February 18.
Pimentel said the rule of Verba Legis should apply, meaning that it should be interpreted with plain meaning. He said the dictionary defines “forthwith” as being without any delay. The Filipino translation of the Constitution also translated ‘forthwith’ as “agad”.
“The above elaboration affirms that it is the Senate’s duty to act on the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte ‘without any delay’ or ‘without interval of time.’ I repeat that this is the Senate’s DUTY,” Pimentel wrote.
Pimentel said Escudero has already received the letter.
Senate president's position. Escudero had maintained that there was no legal basis for the impeachment proceedings to go on during the break without being taken up first in the plenary. He gave his assurance, however, that the trial will eventually continue despite changes in the chamber's leadership and composition.
Duterte’s impeachment case stems from the alleged misuse of public funds in the Office of the Vice President. She has also threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she was to die.
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