By Atty. Joseph Philip T. Andres
After the House of Representatives rendered a vote of 257 in favor, 25 against and 9 abstentions to impeach Vice President Sarah Duterte, the action now shifts to the Senate where a new leadership awaits the House of Representatives’ official transmittal. The vote in the lower chamber did not come as a surprise because the target numbers were already there (in fact, even more) even during the term of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The country will now observe the Senate’s handling of the impeachment complaint. Hopefully, there will be no more confusion on what “forthwith” means as the new Senate President (at least as of this writing) opened his term by replying to the question on how he will handle the proceedings as the impeachment court’s Presiding Officer with the words “The truth shall set you free.” How it actually translates is something the Filipino people await with much interest.
Freshmen law students know that impeachment is not a judicial proceeding but is a political one and it appears that it will be the unmistakable narrative with this group. With only 5 lawyers (Cayetano siblings, Kiko Pangilinan, Rodante Marcoleta and Chiz Escudero), we can be sure that the proceedings will be a colorful one especially because of the “caliber” of the judges and their perceived peculiarities which will ultimately affect their verdict/vote.
By the numbers, it will take 16 votes to remove the Vice President from office as what the Constitution prescribes. Whether or not this number is remotely achievable is highly suspect as the change in leadership shows us that the “writing is already in the wall”, so to speak.
Robin Padilla who is a confessed diehard Duterte supporter has previously mentioned that he will propose that the articles of impeachment be outrightly rejected. Knowingly or unknowingly, this will cause a constitutional crisis as the option he is proposing is not part of what the Constitution prescribes.
Rodante Marcoleta has been accused by erstwhile Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman of receiving at least P500 million in “allocables” from the Department of Public Works and Highways during his time as a party list representative according to the notes of the late Undersecretary Cabral.
There is also the curious case of Bato Dela Rosa who, after his long absence, conveniently shows up on the day the vote to replace the Senate leadership was to be taken. While the citizenry laughed at the released video of him being chased by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation who were there to serve the warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), it truly sullied the image of the Senate as an institution. Needless to say, he is not only a Duterte supporter but an accomplice in the crimes against humanity charge, at least in the eyes of the ICC prosecutors.
Fierce supporters of the Vice President aside from Padilla, Marcoleta and Dela Rosa also includes Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada. The latter pair’s names have been consistently mentioned as among those who will be identified by the Ombudsman as among those who could possibly be charged as part of the flood control scandal. The 2 figured prominently in the investigations conducted at the Senate.
Other known supporters are Bong Go who was her father’s chief aid and presidential sister Imee Marcos who has supported views that counter her brother’s.
Late additions to the list of senators who favored the change in the Senate’s leadership were the Villar siblings. Their support in the leadership change comes after the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed a case against their family for insider trading, market manipulation and the Securities Regulation Code.
That’s a brief description of the senator judges who will be handling the proceeding and passing judgment on the fate of the impeached Vice President.
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that the support for the impeached Vice President appears to be a matter of survival and furtherance of self interest of some men and women who will be casting their vote to determine whether or not the person who is perceived to be the “President in waiting” is allowed to proceed with her journey despite the mountain of evidence against her…from the illegal usage of confidential funds to unexplained (by any stretch of the imagination) wealth. Particularly devastating is the evidence from the Anti Money Laundering Council showing cash flow in the Vice President’s bank accounts running into the billions.
We can only hope and pray that the evidence will be too obvious and too damning for the senator judges to tell the Filipino people a verdict which does not conform with the evidence presented and merely seek refuge in the reality that this is not a judicial proceeding but a political one.
We hope that the Filipino people will not forget how our senators will come up with their individual verdicts. We pray that the senators will act with wisdom and in accordance with the dictates of their conscience knowing that sooner or later we will all face our Divine Judge.
THE BARRISTER 