Retired chief justice Artemio Panganiban said that the House of Representatives (HOR) can still file a motion for reconsideration to appeal the Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional.
“Note that the decision is not final yet. It is still subject to a motion for reconsideration (or for clarification) by the HOR, if it so wants to file one,” Panganiban said in a statement.
He added that he would have asked for oral arguments before promulgating any decision, in reaction to the Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring that the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte were unconstitutional.
“If the Court had patiently heard Oral Argument on less important problems like the recognition of foreign divorces and the PhilHealth petitions, why not on this monumental case?” Panganiban said.
“In the least, if only to accord respect to a coequal branch of the government, the HOR (House of Representatives), I would have called for Oral Argument before making up my mind and casting my vote,” he added.
The former chief justice also said that if he were still an incumbent, he would have favored the issuance of a status quo ante order. This would require the parties to maintain the current situation, or for the Senate to stop any trial while the SC is deliberating on the petition.
“In this way, both the justices and the public would have had a better grasp of the facts and the law involved. After all, this case has transcendental importance to the nation and to our people,” Panganiban said.
He also prefaced his opinion by saying that, regardless of whether the public agrees with the decision, to respect it: “First, regardless of whether we are for or against the decision, let us respect it. We must observe the rule of law.”
