Senate Impeachment Court Controls Pace of VP Sara Duterte's Trial, House Prosecutors Say
Key Takeaways
- •House prosecutors maintain that the Senate impeachment court, rather than the prosecution panel, holds authority over the timing and pace of the trial.
- •Senator Imee Marcos questioned whether the proceedings were being expedited to coincide with US President Donald Trump's expected visit and the conclusion of ASEAN events.
- •Prosecution member Joel R. Chua questioned whether it was appropriate for a senator-judge to comment publicly on the case, invoking the sub judice.
- •The House panel withdrew three of the four articles of impeachment to concentrate on the remaining charge of alleged unexplained wealth.
- •The defense is scheduled to resume presenting its case on Nov. 9, and a conviction would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
The Senate impeachment court, not the House prosecution panel, controls the pace of the impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, House prosecutors said on Tuesday, rejecting a senator's claim that the proceedings are being rushed.
"First of all, we are in no position to rush things. So that statement, I think, is not relevant," Batangas Rep. Gerville R. Luistro, the House lead prosecutor, said in Filipino during a press briefing.
"It is the impeachment court which has or is in the position to control the proceedings, that is not in the hands of the prosecution," she added.
Her remarks followed comments from Senator Maria Imelda "Imee" R. Marcos, who earlier on Tuesday questioned whether the trial was being expedited to coincide with the expected visit of US President Donald J. Trump and the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) events.
"We can really feel that there is a rush; my only question is, what's the rush?" Ms. Marcos told reporters in Filipino. "Are we really just going to show off because President Trump is arriving and ASEAN is ending, suddenly just short-cutting the sequence of events?"
Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua, also a member of the prosecution panel, questioned whether Ms. Marcos' remarks were appropriate given her role as a senator-judge in the impeachment proceedings.
"Doesn't it seem inappropriate for a senator-judge to make this kind of comment?" Mr. Chua said in Filipino, raising questions about whether the sub judice principle should also apply to senator-judges.
The exchange underscores the Senate's dual role in the process: senators convene as the impeachment court that conducts the trial, and conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the chamber. The sub judice principle generally calls for restraint on public statements about matters pending before a court.
Ms. Luistro also said the panel weighed the interests of the public and the impeachment court when it decided to withdraw three of the four articles of impeachment and concentrate on the remaining charge, which concerns alleged unexplained wealth.
"We will swim and swim; we will rise and rise; we will live and live in Article 2," she said.
The defense is scheduled to resume presenting its case on Nov. 9. — Pexcel John Bacon
