What’s with Senate President Chiz Escudero’s latest move to postpone the reading by one of the 11 House of Representatives’ prosecutors of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte?
This was supposed to take place when the Senate resumed its session on June 2, but Escudero decided—all by himself, it would appear— to move it to June 11
Was it, as he explained it, to allow the Senate to focus on pending legislation, among which is one that seeks to strengthen the functions of the Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board by granting the agency more power to regulate even online streaming platforms.
Another is the Escudero-sponsored Government Optimization Act, which aims to streamline the national government by reducing obsolete positions.
Are these bills so urgent that the Senate will prioritize them at the expense of a decision on the very future of Philippine democracy and the rule of law in this country that the impeachment complaint against the Vice President seeks to uphold?
They clearly are not.
As argued by former Senator and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the impeachment case should be given priority as it is sui generis (one of a kind).
Besides, the impeachment charges against Sara Duterte are not flimsy at all.
Under the verified impeachment complaint approved by the House last Feb. 5, seven articles were submitted: (1) misuse of confidential funds within the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President; (2) bribery within the DepEd; (3) violation of the 1987 Constitution and betrayal of public trust due to unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets; (4) commission of high crimes, due to involvement in extrajudicial killings in the drug war; (5) destabilization plots and high crimes of sedition and insurrection; (6) betrayal of public trust acts due to her unbecoming conduct as Vice President; and (7) threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez;
These are serious charges that VP Sara Duterte must answer.
If some of these charges, such as misuse of public funds amounting to more than P50 million, are filed before a regular trial court, these would fall within the category of plunder, which carries a long prison term and perpetual disqualification from public office.
The postponement of the convening of the impeachment court and the start of the impeachment itself to the end of July raises a serious question:
Is Escudero trying to protect VP Sara Duterte and keep her out of harm’s way so she can continue in office and even run for president in 2028?
Escudero insists that rules are rules and are therefore sacrosanct and unbending.
But doesn’t he realize that rules can be broken, particularly if this would be for the good of the nation and the preservation of our democratic system?
