The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is not optional and should proceed once the 20th Congress formally convenes, House prosecutor and Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith T. Flores said yesterday.
“No, it is not optional. As soon as it is filed, it is my understanding that the Senate is obliged to hear and decide the case,” Flores told a radio interview.
Asked about the possibility of dismissal, he insisted that the Constitution requires the Senate to try impeachment complaints transmitted by the House.
“Because their obligation under the Constitution is really to hear and decide [on the case]. That’s what is Holding written in the Constitution. So, if they [senators] just follow the Constitution, there is really going to be a trial,” he said in a mixture of Filipino and English.
The House of Representatives, which approved the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte before adjourning the 19th Congress, is now awaiting the formal organization of the 20th Congress.
Flores confirmed that one of the pending requirements is a certification that the 20th Congress intends to continue with the impeachment.
He acknowledged this procedural step, saying it is a condition set by the Senate before the trial may begin.
Flores noted that while the Senate is considered a continuing body, the House of Representatives is not.
After this, the House is expected to elect its new leadership and constitute its members.
He explained that prosecutors in the impeachment case are nominated and elected by the House majority.
Meanwhile, Reelected Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre underscored the need to ensure fairness and constitutional integrity in the upcoming impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.
He likewise stressed the need to keep the process focused on accountability rather than allowing it to be sidetracked by technicalities.
“My only worry is that, with the proceeding as it is, I hope that our desire to clarify the accountability of the second highest public servant of our country will not be drowned in technicalities,” Acidre said in Filipino.
“We just hope that everything will be done in the spirit of fairness and integrity of the process,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the upper chamber, Senator Risa Hontiveros distanced herself from recent statements made by Senate Impeachment Court spokesperson Regie Tongol, emphasizing they do not reflect the position of the entire Senate.
“Based on his statements at a recent press conference, he represents only the position of the Presiding Officer. But he does not represent mine, as one of the Senator-Judges,” she said yesterday.
“As a deliberative body, the strength of the Senate is in its collective judgement,” Hontiveros added.
The senator also criticized what she described as a contradiction in the Presiding Officer’s position on the timing and authority of the Impeachment Court.
She said past claims that the Impeachment Court could not convene until the start of the 20th Congress were inconsistent with unilateral decisions now being made about its rules.
“Out of respect for the institution, I hope we can be more mindful of process and allow us Senator-Judges to decide only when we are properly convened,” she said.
Her remarks come amid rising tensions over internal decisions within the Senate regarding the impeachment protocols.