Palace: ‘Awkward’ for PBBM to initiate VP’s impeachment

Malacañang said it would be “awkward” for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. to “voluntarily” initiate Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, reiterating the chief executive will not call for a special session.

“So, it is better for the Senate to request the President, considering that even the President made this pronouncement that if the Senate will ask him to call for a special session, he will do so,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters on Tuesday.

However, the newly-minted Palace spokesperson said that lawmakers have not yet requested the President to call for a special congressional session to start the impeachment proceedings against Duterte.

“If you will take a look at the Constitution, the President may call for [a] special session anytime,” Castro explained in a mixture of Filipino and English.

She acknowledged that there is a “gray area” in the Constitution on whether the impeachment proceedings could start while Congress is in recess.

Still, Castro pointed out that Mr. Marcos may call a session for the impeachment trial “anytime without any condition.”

“If you will look and read the provisions of the Constitution, you will see, ‘to forthwith proceed’ …but there is no time element. Is it to forthwith proceed even during recess? Because they can proceed definitely, if there is a session. There’s no question about that. But to proceed during recess… is a gray area in the Constitution,” she noted.

On Monday, Senate President Francis Escudero said a special session is needed before the Senate can start the impeachment proceedings against Duterte.

However, with neither the President nor the Senate President wanting to initiate the impeachment process, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged Majority Leader Francis Tolentino to get the ball rolling.

“The Senate Majority Leader should now set the stage for the impeachment in keeping with the mandate of the Constitution,” Pimentel said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Preparatory work for the impeachment can proceed immediately as these actions are separate and distinct from the legislative functions of Congress,” he added.

Last week, Pimentel wrote Escudero, asking him to immediately convene the Senate as an impeachment court by citing the constitutional provision that the impeachment trial “shall forthwith proceed.”

The said letter was referred to the Senate committee on rules which is currently chaired by Tolentino, who is seeking reelection in the 2025 midterm polls.

“We have a constitutional duty that must take precedence over our reelection bid. While we may be busy with our campaigns, the best campaign is fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities. I trust that the upcoming election will not interfere with our mandate,” Pimentel wrote.

As this developed, the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the House of Representatives, its Secretary General Reginald Velasco, and the Senate to comment on Duterte’s petition asking that the impeachment complaint filed against her be nullified.

In their session, the SC En Banc has acted on said petition requiring the respondents to comment on said petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice.

Last week, Duterte filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition, with a prayer for a temporary restraining order (TRO), seeking to nullify the fourth impeachment complaint against her. The impeachment complaint is unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar on such proceedings, according to her.