INCOMING senators can only take their oath as judges of the impeachment court that will try Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio once the Senate president, who will preside over the trial, is elected, according to the court spokesman.
“The call for swearing in of senator-judges will need to depend on the existence of a presiding officer or Senate president because the senator-judges will have to take their oath before the presiding officer,” Senate impeachment court spokesman Reginald A. Tongol told a news briefing on Wednesday.
On Monday, Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel said Senate President Francis G. Escudero should swear in the 12 senators-elect as judges since the impeachment court remains in session.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the Senate president presides over the impeachment trial of impeachable officials like the Vice-President. If the President is under trial, the Chief Justice becomes the presiding officer.
“If one Congress adjourns and another begins, the Senate President is going to be elected or re-elected,” Mr. Tongol said. “So, we need to wait to see who will be elected.”
Mr. Tongol said the impeachment court would wait for the election or re-election of the Senate president before swearing in senators as judges.
“The presiding officer, as a matter of prudence and diligence, wants to do that only when the Senate president of the 20th Congress has been elected,” he added.
The 12 incoming senators are expected to take their oath when sessions resume on July 28.
The House of Representatives impeached the Vice-President on Feb. 5, alleging secret fund misuse, unexplained wealth, acts of destabilization and plotting the assassination of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his family, and the Speaker of the House. Ms. Duterte has denied any wrongdoing.
The impeachment complaint was filed and signed by more than 200 congressmen, more than the one-third vote required by law before it could be sent to the Senate for trial.
Last month, senator-judges voted against dismissing the trial, but moved to return the articles of impeachment to the House to certify that it followed the law in impeaching Ms. Duterte.
Senators have also voted to ask the House whether the 20th Congress is willing to pursue the Vice-President’s impeachment.
Mr. Tongol said the certifications are meant to guarantee “procedural legitimacy and to uphold constitutional standards.”
The certifications are meant to “prevent any legal impediment or challenges or technicalities that could undermine the impeachment process once it starts rolling, and to uphold the proceedings’ integrity,” he added.
Partylist Rep. Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno earlier said the court order for the House to certify its willingness to pursue the impeachment of Ms. Duterte in the 20th Congress could impede the trial.
“The disrespect for or attempts to undermine the impeachment court processes threaten the independence and credibility of the court and jeopardize public trust in the process itself,” Mr. Tongol said.
Some business groups including the Makati Business Club have raised concerns about the delay in the impeachment trial, saying it sends a bad signal to foreign investors. — AHH
