Dribbled

Lawyers, including those in the House of Representatives, are discombobulated and asking: what do senators think they're doing? Senate President Francis Escudero has been impressive enough in politics to be mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2028.

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

But as presiding judge of the impeachment court that has been convened to try Vice President Sara Duterte, "SP Chiz" is beginning to suffer from comparisons with the presiding judges of previous tribunals: chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. in the trial of president Joseph Estrada, and SP Juan Ponce Enrile in the trial of chief justice Renato Corona.

The chief justice heads the impeachment court only when it involves the president. So it's the Senate chief who presides if it's the VP and other lower-ranking impeachable officials. But even certain people who admire Escudero think he's in over his head in VP Sara's case, and is making too many compromises in the name of political expediency. They think SP Chiz simply lacks the gravitas that can command deep respect from the senator-judges.

There are suggestions for the Senate to borrow Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo to sit as non-voting presiding judge of the impeachment tribunal, just to have someone who can exercise strong leadership and whip the senator-judges into line. It won't happen, of course, but the suggestions indicate the level of confidence in SP Chiz as presiding judge of the impeachment court.

Those making the suggestions say the Senate needs an adult in the room. The situation has become a political tinderbox, and they say an impartial authority in law is needed—something that is lacking in this Senate.

Escudero cites the collegial nature of the Senate in approving compromises. These apparently include allowing senator-judges to effectively lawyer for the respondent/defendant, the VP, after they had all been sworn in as supposedly impartial judges.