SC Impeachment

Whether or not to endorse the complaint could be used by the impeached official to raise the matter to the SC.

- — With Neil Jayson Servallos

These requirements, Puno said, subsequently gave the SC the power to determine the sufficiency of evidence and reasonableness of time given to all members of the House to reach an independent decision.

"It tilted the balance of power in its favor. It runs counter to the advice that in interpreting the Constitution, the role of justices is to serve strictly as umpires. They should not act as pitchers or batters in favor of any party," the statement declared.

"The exercise of this new power which the Court gifted itself will border the anomalous when a member of the Court becomes a respondent in an impeachment case," it further warned.

The statement was approved with no dissenting opinion by the 15-member PhilConSa board, Puno told The STAR yesterday.

"In fine, the new Rules written by the Court for the House to follow will render nugatory the exclusive power of the House to initiate all impeachment cases. We beg the Court to revisit the constitutionality of the new Rules it wrote from the House," PhilConSa declared.