The Senate impeachment court cannot reconvene for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte until the House complies with two orders issued in June, its spokesperson Reginald Tongol on Wednesday said.
“If you look at the intent of the impeachment court, it wants this process to already roll. And the compliances, the certifications, will ensure that there is no more question or any legal impediment once the impeachment court convenes,” he said.
On June 10, the Senate impeachment court ordered the House to certify that it did not violate the one year prohibition on impeachment proceedings against the same official and to issue a formal communication of intent to proceed.
He said any motion to reconvene the impeachment court will likely occur on or after July 29, once the legislative session is in full swing.
A House member, however, said the Senate impeachment trial of Duterte should focus on accountability instead of letting procedural hurdles derail the process.
Rep. Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list said concerns raised by the Senate impeachment court on procedural requirements, such as the need for a certification from the 20th Congress, could have been properly raised during trial proceedings and not before it.
“It makes it look like they’re lawyering…But we know that if there is any responsibility, if the Senate has any perspective or any concern, the compliance could have been raised better in the course of the trial…that would have afforded also the House to present,” Acidre said.
“I hope that our desire to clarify the responsibility of the Vice President will not be drowned in technicalities. Because there is only one method for us to meet the call for accountability — to have a trial,” he added.
Tongol explained the need for certifications from the House would help avoid future legal hurdles in the process.
“These certification procedures should not be seen as traps or measures to impede. These certification processes help prevent any legal impediment, challenges or technicalities that could undermine the impeachment process once it starts rolling,” he said.
But for Acidre, the real casualty in the delays and procedural wrangling is the public.
“It is the people who are at a disadvantage in this matter… The Filipino people should already know…what is the truth about the use of confidential funds and other allegations in the articles of impeachment,” Acidre added.
