Escudero not interested in VP post

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis Escudero is not interested in being Vice President in case the impeached Sara Duterte gets convicted during trial.

In an interview with The Philippine STAR’s online show “Truth on the Line” on Friday, Escudero put the issue to rest.

“That is an unfair question because the entire Congress above the age of 40, and all of the senators, can be a choice of the President (for vice president),” the Senate President said.

“I am simply one of them. But if you ask me, I am not interested,” he added.

Section 9, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states: “Whenever there is a vacancy in the Office of the Vice President during the term for which he was elected, the President shall nominate a Vice President from among the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who shall assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.”

Escudero said that while the Senate President is third in the line of succession, it is not automatic that he will get elevated to Vice President if the position gets vacated.

He said delicadeza would dictate upon them as senator-judges in the upcoming impeachment trial to reject an offer to become vice president because they will be the ones rendering judgment on Duterte.

“It would not be good to look at. It would be more prudent for those who voted to, if at all, remove the Vice President, to decline any such offer or nomination,” Escudero said.

Escudero said he would not succumb to pressure from some quarters to either delay or fast-track the impeachment proceedings.

He maintained that the Senate can only start tackling the Articles of Impeachment while in session. He scoffed at his critics saying the Senate committed a constitutional breach because it did not convene the impeachment court after receiving the impeachment complaint on Feb. 5, when the chamber had two more days that week before the break.