Special session for VP impeachment trial is illegal, says Senate president

THE SENATE won’t hold a special session so they could try impeached Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is accused of corruption and other charges, because it is against the law, its president said on Monday.

The chamber is likely after the President’s State of the Nation Address on July 28 or once the new Congress starts, Senate President Francis G. Escudero told reporters.

“I have no intention of requesting to the President a special session,” he said. “This is not one of the things or reasons [under the law] for the Senate to call for a special session,” he added in Filipino.

More than 200 congressmen last week filed and signed an impeachment complaint against Ms. Duterte, more than the one-third vote required by the Constitution for her to be impeached, paving the way for her trial by the Senate.

The House of Representatives sent the bill of the impeachment complaint to the Senate on the last day of the congressional session. Twenty-five more congressmen later endorsed the complaint.

The ouster charges consisted of seven articles of impeachment, including allegations of plotting the assassination of the President, misusing secret funds, amassing unexplained wealth and committing acts of destabilization

Ms. Duterte has denied any wrongdoing, including having threatened to get President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. assassinated in case she herself were killed. She earlier said her lawyers are busy preparing for her defense.

“Who wants us to hold a special session and conduct the trial before the [May 12 midterm] elections?” Mr. Escudero asked in Filipino. “Those who are pro-impeachment. We won’t listen to those who are pro-or anti-Vice-President Sara. We will follow what the law provides.”

Congress is on a four-month break for the midterm elections, where Filipinos will pick a new set of congressmen and 12 of the 24-member Senate, as well as other local officials.

Mr. Escudero cited the case of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, whom the House impeached three days before they adjourned. The trial was set more than a month later, he pointed out.

He also noted that former Chief Justice Renato C. Corona was impeached a week before Congress went on a break. “The Senate held the trial after Christmas and the New Year, in January, or about a month after,” he said in Filipino.

“Why should I change the treatment of this impeachment complaint?” he asked, adding that the Vice-President’s impeachment case is not special.

He noted that under the 1987 Constitution, Congress can only hold special sessions for urgent legislation, when it must vote for a new Vice-President in case one is removed or incapacitated or if the President becomes incapacitated by a majority vote of the Cabinet.

The Legislature may also hold special sessions to canvass the votes and proclaim the President and Vice-President after an election, or when martial law is declared and the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives prosecution team plans to subpoena the Vice-President’s bank records as evidence once her trial starts, said Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua, a prosecutor-congressman for the trial.

“The impeachment process allows us to complete the evidence to support our case, and that includes subpoenaing financial records, if necessary, through the Senate impeachment court,” he said in a statement.

“The Bank Secrecy law provides an exception for impeachment cases, and we intend to use all legal means to secure relevant documents, in addition to the evidence already present, that will aid in the trial,” he added.

The Vice-President’s office did not answer several calls outside business hours.

Ms. Duterte is one of few Philippine officials who were impeached, among them ex-President Joseph E. Estrada in 2000, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in March 2011, Mr. Corona in December 2011 and election chief Juan Andres D. Bautista in October 2017.

Mr. Corona was convicted by the Senate, while Ms. Gutierrez and Mr. Bautista resigned before they could be tried. Mr. Estrada’s trial was aborted as some House prosecutors walked out after senators voted against opening a document containing evidence. He was later ousted by a street uprising.

The House prosecution panel is also considering working with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and state auditors to trace transactions connected to the Vice-President’s confidential funds, Mr. Chua said.

Ms. Duterte has been accused of mishandling P612.5 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds in 2022 and 2023, which stemmed from a House inquiry. She has denied any wrongdoing, calling the probe politically motivated. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Adrian H. Halili and Norman P. Aquino