Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna described recent developments in the Senate as “novel and unprecedented,” but within the bounds of the 1987 Constitution to allow the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte transition from the 19th to the 20th Congress.
In a status update posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday, Azcuna acknowledged that the senators stepped into an “uncharted territory” when they voted on Tuesday evening to remand the articles of impeachment back to the House of Representatives.
“This never happened before because this is the first time that an impeachment trial is caught between two Congresses and the case must cross over from one Congress to another,” the retired justice said.
“I therefore find the novel and unprecedented step as an adoption of a unique but allowable procedure to insure a proper cross over of the same Articles of Impeachment from the 19th Congress to the 20th Congress,” Azcuna added.
Based on Azcuna’s observations, the Senate as an impeachment court remains open and active following the oaths taken by presiding judge Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero and the 22 senator-judges earlier this week.
“The all-important element is that the Impeachment Court has acquired jurisdiction over the case and is still on course to proceed to trial and decision without undue delay after the cross over,” he noted.
The motion to remand the articles of impeachment was proposed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and later adopted by the upper chamber after receiving 18 affirmative votes against five senators who decided otherwise.
Cayetano raised the idea as he disagreed with Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa’s motion to dismiss the impeachment proceedings outright. The motion to “remand,” therefore, served as a compromise that would then allow the trial to cross over from the 19th to the 20th Congress.
