Senate convenes as impeachment court to try Vice-President Duterte
By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Senate on Tuesday convened as an impeachment court after senators took their oath as jurors to try Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who faces a lifetime political ban if convicted of high crimes and betraying the public trust.
The trial could be a pivotal moment in Philippine politics by not only making or breaking Ms. Duterte, but also carrying big implications for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and his agenda for the remaining three years of his presidency and beyond.
A likely contender to be the next president, Ms. Duterte, 47, was impeached in February by the House of Representatives.
She denies all the accusations, from budget anomalies to amassing unusual wealth and threatening the lives of Mr. Marcos, his wife and the Speaker.
“We stand ready to confront the charges and expose the baselessness of the accusations,” her office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The upper chamber convened as an impeachment court after Senator Ronald “Bato” M. Dela Rosa, a Duterte-ally, moved for the Senate to scrap the impeachment trial.
“I respectfully move that in view of its constitutional infirmities and questions on the jurisdiction and authority of the 20th Congress, the verified impeachment complaints against the (Vice President) be dismissed,” he said in a privilege speech.
The impeachment complaint was filed and signed by more than 200 congressmen, meeting the more than one-third vote required by law to start a trial.
Senate President Francis G. Escudero, who will preside over the trial, said the Senate must first convene as an impeachment court before acting on Mr. Dela Rosa’s motion.
Senate Majority Leader Francis N. Tolentino filed a resolution proposing a 19-day impeachment trial for Ms. Duterte starting on June 11 until June 30. The present Congress will be replaced by a new set of lawmakers in July.
“Without compromising the integrity of the Senate and the substance of the impeachment trial, including the rights of the parties, there is a need to adopt an expedited trial calendar,” he said.
A two-thirds majority is required to convict Ms. Duterte, which would kill off her hopes of running for president in 2028.
The trial of the popular daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo R. Duterte follows an acrimonious falling-out with former ally Mr. Marcos, who ran on a joint ticket that won the 2022 election in a landslide.
Mr. Marcos is limited to a single six-year term in office and is expected to try to retain future influence by grooming a successor who can fend off Ms. Duterte in the next election if she is acquitted.
The President has distanced himself from the impeachment process, even though it was launched by his allies at the House.
The trial comes after a stronger-than-expected showing for Ms. Duterte’s allies in last month’s midterm elections.
That demonstrated her enduring influence, despite the battle with Mr. Marcos and the arrest and handover to the International Criminal Court of her father in March over thousands of killings in a “war on drugs” he waged as President from 2016 to 2022.
‘POLITICAL TOOL’
Ms. Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, only one of whom — Renato Corona, a former chief justice — was convicted.
The trial of former President Joseph Estrada was aborted in 2001 after some prosecutors walked out, while the resignation of two officials — an election commission chairman and an ombudsman — followed their impeachment.
The start of her trial comes just three days after the end of the final session of the current Senate, with 12 new members set to join when the chamber next gathers in July.
Ms. Duterte had asked the Supreme Court to nullify the impeachment complaint against her for being politically motivated. The court has ordered Congress to respond.
“The impeachment process must never be weaponized to harass, silence or eliminate political opponents,” her office said on Tuesday. “It is a constitutional mechanism, not a political tool.” — with Reuters
