Senate Urges Patience for Supreme Court Decision
Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III urged lawmakers to wait for Supreme Court rulings before proceeding with Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. During Wednesday’s plenary session, he emphasized the need to hold off on dismissing the case outright.
“Let’s not dismiss forthwith,” Sotto said, calling for patience as the Supreme Court (SC) reviews the motion for reconsideration recently filed by the House of Representatives. He stressed the importance of allowing the SC to correct what he described as “clear and blatant errors” in its initial decision.
Supreme Court Can Revise Landmark Decisions
Sotto pointed out that even landmark rulings by the SC are subject to reversal. “There is no perfect institution; even the Supreme Court could commit grave abuse of discretion or culpable violation of the Constitution,” he noted. He added, “A case decided unanimously does not mean that it is infallible. For all we know, it is a unanimous mistake that again can be corrected by setting aside and reversing prior pronouncements.”
In light of this, Sotto also proposed tabling the motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint filed by Senator Rodante Marcoleta.
Constitutional Basis of the Impeachment Trial
According to the 1987 Constitution, the impeachment trial must begin immediately if at least one-third of the House of Representatives supports the complaint. In this case, 215 House members voted in favor of impeaching Vice President Duterte, surpassing the required threshold.
If convicted in the Senate trial, Duterte could face permanent disqualification from holding public office. However, the lower chamber has filed a motion for reconsideration after the Supreme Court declared the impeachment complaint unconstitutional, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez shared on Monday.
Supreme Court’s Unconstitutional Ruling
On July 25, SC spokesperson Camille Ting announced the court’s decision that the impeachment articles forwarded by the House violated the one-year bar rule set by the 1987 Constitution. The complaint against Duterte alleged misuse of confidential funds, threats against senior officials, and other constitutional breaches.
Despite this setback, Senate Minority Leader Sotto encourages giving the Supreme Court the chance to reconsider and potentially reverse its ruling, preserving the integrity of the impeachment process and future judicial proceedings.
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