Charter Change to correct wrongful SC ruling - Sotto

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- JARIUS BONDOC

Constitutional amending is needed against the wrongful Supreme Court ruling on impeachment, Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto said. "SC's mistake is to rewrite the Constitution with its ruling; we must amend the Constitution itself to erase that mistake," Sotto told Sapol-dwIZ Saturday.

"I will now support a Constituent Assembly of Congress to erase SC's virtual rewriting of the basic law," Sotto expounded.

Amending is needed of Article XI, Accountability of Public Officers, after SC made impeaching impossible, Sotto texted Monday.

Voiding last July 25 VP Sara Duterte's impeachment, SC imposed seven conditions on such future actions. Sotto zeroed in on two of those:

One, that the House should summon and hear the impeached officer's side. Two, that all 317 congressmen attest that they've read and understood the charges and evidence.

"What if the accused refuses to attend? What if just one of 317 congressmen refuses to read?" Sotto pointed up. "No more case?"

Only 31 most powerful officials are impeachable: the president, VP, 15 SC justices, ombudsman, seven election commissioners, three audit commissioners and three Civil Service commissioners.

SC is under public lambasting for conflict of interest. It practically immunized itself from impeachment. "They shouldn't do that," Sotto criticized the 13-0 ruling.

On Aug. 6, the Senate voted 19-4-1 to archive the seven Articles of Impeachment against VP Sara.