Senate Impeachment Court Faces Crucial Decision
MANILA, Philippines—The Senate impeachment court must exercise caution and avoid being overzealous in applying the Supreme Court’s ruling that dismissed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte. This is especially important since the House of Representatives is still appealing the decision.
Lawyer Dindo Garciano, a member of the Philippine Constitution Association’s board of governors, warned that rushing to act on the ruling could risk making the Senate impeachment court obsolete. He emphasized the need for the court to carefully consider the spirit of the Supreme Court’s decision in Duterte v. House.
“The Senate as impeachment court should carefully look at the spirit of the discussions in the (Duterte v. House) ruling,” Garciano said. “It should not be overzealous to act on something that still has pending questions on the constitutionality of the act of a co-equal branch of government.”
He urged the Senate to closely examine the consequences for holding public officials accountable if they proceed based on unresolved constitutional issues.
Potential Impact on Future Impeachment Cases
Garciano noted that even if the Senate believes they have solid grounds to dismiss the case, they must consider how the ruling might affect the removal of impeachable officials in the future. “This could be the last ever impeachment court. Wala nang trabaho ang Senate,” he said, highlighting the Senate’s critical role in the impeachment process.
The lawyer explained that the ruling implies any impeachment issue must first be settled by the Supreme Court before reaching the Senate. This could effectively bar future complaints from advancing, unless the Senate shows judicial restraint to preserve its function as senator-judges.
His comments come as the Senate is expected to vote on whether to follow the July 25 Supreme Court ruling that declared the fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte unconstitutional due to the one-year bar rule.
House Appeals Supreme Court Ruling
The House prosecutor team, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed an appeal on Monday urging the Supreme Court to reverse its decision or at least apply the new rules on impeachment complaints prospectively, not retroactively.
The ruling introduced seven new due process requirements for impeachment complaints, which Garciano said clash with traditional standards established in past cases like Francisco v. House and Gutierrez v. Committee on Justice.
According to the Francisco ruling, the impeachment complaint initiation by the House involves filing the complaint and referring it to the proper committee. However, the first three complaints against Duterte, filed in December, were not acted upon this way. Instead, lawmakers drafted and endorsed a fourth complaint submitted to the Senate in February, after which the initial three were archived.
The Gutierrez ruling supports the House’s authority to combine multiple complaints.
Concerns Over Supreme Court’s Expanded Role
Garciano insisted that these new requirements should apply only to future complaints, not past ones. He warned that the Supreme Court’s ruling intrudes on the House’s exclusive power to initiate impeachment complaints, potentially allowing the high court to control the process.
While the Supreme Court rarely reverses its own rulings, Garciano expressed hope that it might uphold the House’s appeal. The appeal clarifies that the first three complaints were not dismissed before Congress adjourned and thus should not bar the current verified complaint.
“The motion for reconsideration is a chance for the Supreme Court to prove that these people are men of integrity,” he said. “Its record on reversals is low but that is in ordinary cases. This case, however, is a high-profile constitutional issue that involves accountability of public officials.”
He also suggested the Supreme Court might hold oral arguments, as the ruling appears to lack sufficient factual basis.
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