Senator-elect Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday the Supreme Court may intervene should it receive petitions and rule in favor of the Senate convening as an impeachment court to let the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte proceed.
Lacson made this comment upon confirming that he, too, received a draft copy of an alleged Senate resolution seeking to dismiss the impeachment case against Duterte that has been circulated in the upper chamber and reached social media.
He warned that this resolution will face numerous challenges and that, even if it is adopted in plenary, could still be overturned by the high tribunal.
“I received a copy of the draft resolution from an insider in the Senate. It is making the rounds in the Senate so that if it gets enough signatures, it can be debated upon and possibly adopted, if it has the support of the majority,” he said in Filipino in an interview on DZMM radio.
“But this is a resolution that can still be questioned before the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the petitioner, it can compel the Senate to continue with the impeachment trial,” Lacson added.
The draft resolution cited, among others, a lapse of more than 100 days since the Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate, without any corresponding action from the Senate – which is to adjourn June 13.
It also claimed the Senate’s rules prohibit the crossover of the impeachment proceedings to the 20th Congress.
For now, Lacson said the draft resolution cannot even be read on the Senate floor because it has no author. Incumbent senators have also issued conflicting statements about such document.
He said it will have to be authored by at least one senator and go through the usual referral to an appropriate committee that will submit a committee report after being signed by the majority of the committee members and finally adopted or approved in plenary.
“Even if majority of senators signed the resolution, it must be formally adopted in plenary. If the signatories change their minds and withdraw support, there is a chance the resolution won’t be adopted,” Lacson explained.
“(And even if the resolution is adopted in the Senate), it cannot be deemed final, as it is still possible that someone files a petition with the Supreme Court questioning the resolution, and the Supreme Court compels the Senate to convene into an impeachment court,” he added.
