A MEMBER of the House prosecution team in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial defended their panel’s move to request Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero to formally require the Vice President to respond to the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives last February 5.
House Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo said the prosecution team would not do anything that is not within the bounds of law and the Senate rules on impeachment trials.
“Lagi naming irerespeto ang Senate president as the presiding judge ng impeachment court. At gagawa lang kami ng prosesong mga legal based on the existing Senate rules of impeachment,” Defensor told Radyo 630.
“Wala kaming gagawing wala sa legal na pamamaraan, at igagalang namin, kasi katulad nga ng sinabi ko, ang isang judge sa isang trial court, hindi mo naman pwede basta-basta mangbraso ka,” Defensor said.
“You always have to respect. And what we did was based on the Senate rules and the Senate secretary accepted or received the motion filed by Congressman (Marcelino) Libanan yesterday (Tuesday),” he added.
Defensor was referring to the entry with motion to issue summons to require the Vice President Duterte to answer the impeachment complaint signed by 215 lawmakers, or two-thirds of the 306 members of the House of Representatives.
Libanan told a news conference on Tuesday that such requirement is contained in the Senate rules on impeachment trials.
Under such rules, he said the Senate should ask the respondent to file an answer within 10 days from its receipt of the impeachment complaint.
Based on the impeachment timeline earlier released by Escudero, Vice President Duterte would be asked to answer the complaint on June 4.
Trial would start on July 30, two days after the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and after the convening of the incoming 20th Congress.
Libanan said the June 4 plan to require the Vice President to answer the impeachment petition is not contained in the Senate impeachment rules.
“Ang nakikita ko po sa June 4, kapag doon sila nagsimula ay wala po sa kanilang rules of procedure. Dahil pag nai-file kaagad, sa kanilang impeachment rules ay mag-i-issue sila ng summons to the one who is being sought to be impeached in a period of ten days from receipt of the articles of impeachment,” he said.
“So June 4 is is not ten days, napakalayo po niyan. So with this motion, hopefully ay magagawa nila, mapapa-answer nila ang ating vice president in a period of ten days. Otherwise, they have to amend their rules on impeachment procedure…i-amend nila sa Senado ‘yung kanilang impeachment proceedings rules,” he added.
Aside from invoking its own impeachment rules, Libanan pointed out that the Senate can act on the House prosecution’s motion because the chamber is working even while Congress is on recess.
Proof of this is the fact that Sen. Imee Marcos conducted a hearing on the March 11 arrest of former President Duterte, he said.
“Sinasabi nila baka hindi sila makapagtrabaho dahil break na ‘yung Senado. Pero apparently, nagkaroon po sila ng hearing last Thursday, yung committee ni Senadora Imee (Marcos),” he said.
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