President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. said on Tuesday he believes the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will transition from the 19th to the 20th Congress, but he is leaving this up for the Senate to decide.
In an interview with Malacañang-based reporters, Marcos said he—like everyone else—is also watching how Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero will lead a peaceful transition of responsibilities between the incumbent and incoming senators.
“We leave it to them. It (impeachment) has moved already from the House. It has now been in the Senate for a few months. We are watching, of course, what Senate President Chiz Escudero is doing to try to make it as a peaceful transition as possible from this Congress to the next,” Marcos said.
Marcos, a former senator himself, said he doesn’t see any ‘controversy’ amid the latest developments in the Senate, knowing that it is unlikely the senator-judges in the 19th Congress can finish the trial before the next Congress opens. He is convinced the process can transition to the 20th Congress.
“What is the controversy? It is very clear that it (impeachment) will (transition to the next Congress). Because there is no way that even if they start the trial now, that they will finish it before the new senators come in. Again, the senators will decide,” the President told reporters.
President Marcos earlier mentioned in previous public statements that he is not against holding erstwhile ally Vice President Duterte accountable for her alleged crimes, but he was against the impeachment proceedings, considering other legislative matters that take higher priority.
The President, however, indicated respect for the discretion of lawmakers in pursuing the impeachment trial since the executive and legislative are co-equal branches of government.
