Senators’ own accountability

Once the Senate is convened and constituted as an impeachment court, the 23 incumbent senators become judges of this political proceeding. If voted by majority of senator-judges, it could lead to the ouster from office of Vice President Sara Duterte and her perpetual disqualification from holding public office. That is, if the impeachment wheels start to grind at all to reach its end goal.

Civil society groups led by Akbayan endorsed the first impeachment complaint on Dec. 2 last year. The House Makabayan bloc endorsed its own days later. The third impeachment complaint was filed by a group of lawyers and clergy on Dec.19 and endorsed by more House party-list representatives. But all three impeachment complaints were archived by the Lower House. Instead, they were replaced with the House-prepared fourth impeach complaint at the eleventh hour before Congress adjourned for recess last Feb. 5. The Articles of Impeachment were voted upon by 215 votes out of 306 House members.

Although officially transmitted that same day before Senate sessions started, the senators adjourned for recess that same night without the plenary acknowledging receipt of the impeachment documents. The next day, Senate President Francis Escudero announced that they could only take up the impeachment complaint when both chambers of Congress resume sessions on June 2. Or this is after many of them in Congress joined the May 12 national and local elections.

As a “continuing body,” Escudero insisted the impeachment trial proper could cross over to the incoming 20th Congress with the election of the new set of 12 senators. Most probably, the Senate chief declared, they could start the impeachment trial a day after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM).

The SONA will be on July 28 this year with the traditional joint opening of both chambers in the first regular session of the 20th Congress. Given such timing, Escudero has come under fire for seemingly dilly-dallying to start the process of impeachment. A lawyer by profession, Escudero argued there should be no doubt at all they have already acquired jurisdiction of the impeachment case since its receipt by the Senate secretariat.

Not so, Mr. Senate President, as far as the letters and intent of the framers of our Constitution go. Retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Adolf Azcuna declared this during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Feb.12. Azcuna cited the mere filing of the impeachment documents and being docketed at the Senate secretariat did not grant the Senate jurisdiction over the VP case.  

Azcuna first echoed his unsolicited views in a Facebook post “My Take In My Most Humble Opinion” that went viral last week. Retired from the SC in 2009, Azcuna speaks from a deep well of knowledge on the laws of the land. Now 86 years old, Azcuna served not just once but twice as member of bodies that crafted our basic laws of the land. He first served in the 1971 Constitutional Convention (Con-con) during the term of PBBM’s late namesake father, ex-president Marcos Sr. After the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the late president Corazon Aquino appointed him to the 50-man Constitutional Commission (Con-com.)

After his stint at the Con-com, Mrs. Aquino appointed Azcuna as her chief presidential legal counsel and at one time also served as her concurrent presidential spokesman. But it was former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who appointed Azcuna to the SC in October 2002. Immediately after this, then Chief Justice Hilario Davide named Azcuna as Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy.

In a light moment, Azcuna cited that he and Davide are the only two “surviving” members of the Con-con and two of the 15 Con-com members who are still alive. In fact, Azcuna revealed Davide texted him on the same day that his Facebook post went viral on his reminder to the Senate. “You are correct. I agree,” he quoted Davide’s brief text to him.

Azcuna explained that an impeachment complaint is not like any ordinary legislative bill filed. The conduct of impeachment is a matter that falls under the non-legislative functions of the Senate. As such, he pointed out, this is covered by the Article on Accountability of Public Officers (Art XI). “It follows that the procedures mandated under this Article on Accountability are not constrained by matters of legislative calendars providing for periods of recess and temporary adjournments from the work of legislation under the Article on Legislative Power (Art. VI),” he stressed.

Thus, Azcuna called upon the present batch of 23 senators to convene first and take their new oaths as impeachment judges to officially assume jurisdiction over this case. He exhorted the Senate chief to avoid “unreasonable delay” in the discharge of their sworn duties under the Constitution. Lest, he warned, it is risking “nullity” of the impeachment complaints against VP Sara.

Further, Azcuna asserted there should also be no debate whether there is a need for the President to call for “special sessions” of the present 19th Congress. He noted even PBBM admitted earlier he may call for special sessions only “if” the Senate president and the Speaker will both recommend it. To which Escudero declared he, too, is not inclined to recommend it.

“It’s the call of the Constitution. It is the order of the Constitution to start the impeachment process,” Azcuna declared.

“I maintain the impeachment is a sovereign call that is not constrained by the legislative calendar. It’s a clear mandate of the people to the Senate and they ought to finish it forthwith,” Azcuna insisted.

Azcuna likened such further delaying the impeachment process to the conversation between the two main characters of “Adventures of Alice in the Wonderland” children’s storybook. “How long is forever?” Alice asked the White Rabbit. To which the four-legged furry animal retorted: “Sometimes, just one second.”

The impeachment of VP Sara could be five months later, Azcuna exclaimed in dismay. 

While they may not be impeachable officials, the senators’ accountability lies with the Filipino voters come election time.