Charter experts slam order to remand impeachment case

The move by the Senate to return the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives has spawned grave constitutional questions and challenged the integrity of the impeachment process, the Philippine Constitution Association (PhilConsa) said yesterday.

- By DAPHNE GALVEZ

In a statement, PhilConsa chairman retired chief justice Reynato Puno said the move may constitute grave abuse of discretion and risks undermining the principle that public office is a public trust.

"The Accountability of Public Officials cannot be overstressed — and must never be evaded through procedural artifice," Puno said.

He explained that the Senate's jurisdiction as an impeachment court upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment cannot be lost or suspended by mere procedural acts as it remains in force until the final resolution or dismissal of the case.

Puno said the remand order may have unlawfully suspended Senate jurisdiction already validly acquired as an impeachment court.

The move may have also encroached on the House's exclusive power by requiring the House to certify compliance with the one-year ban, he said.

The imposition of new requirements not found in the Constitution or Senate Rules may also be a "circumlocutory device" meant to delay or defeat the trial, he said.

"PhilConsa submits that no such requirement exists under the Constitution or established impeachment practice.

To create such a requirement ex post facto undermines both the separation of powers and the rule of law," Puno said.

The group also raised concern about due process and impartiality because senators, as members of the impeachment court, were the ones who raised possible defenses on behalf of Duterte, he said.

Puno urged the Senate to uphold its constitutional duty and proceed with the impeachment.

"At stake is not merely the fate of one official, but the integrity of the Constitution itself.

Impeachment is the people's mechanism to enforce Accountability of Public Officials. It must not be thwarted by procedural invention or partisan maneuver," he said.