‘Dismiss’ is Chiz’s Business

By Herbert Vego

SENATE President Francis “Chiz” Escudero wants his “personal version” of the Constitution considered, according to ML Party-list Representative-elect Leila de Lima.

In a TV interview, she said, “Ibang-iba sa orihinal.”

She was reacting to the statement of the Senate president that the senator judges might pass a resolution to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte by a simple majority vote.  This means that if 13 or more of the 24-man Senate vote to dismiss it, then there would be no need for trial.

In a trial, it would take not a simple majority but two-thirds to convict.

In effect, Escudero has unwittingly revealed his pro-Sara color.

De Lima is of the opinion that Escudero’s postponement of the presentation of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to July 28, 2025 violates the 1987 Constitution’s mandate for an immediate start of the trial.

That date marks the shift from the 19th to the 20th Congress on July 28, 2025, where he will remain as presiding officer until voted out.

De Lima could also not agree with Escudero’s view that the shift necessitates presentation of a new composition of the House of Representatives’ prosecution panel due to the “graduation” of certain members and the entry of new ones.

No doubt Escudero is trying to muddle a clear provision of the Constitution on mandatory trial under Art. XI, Sec. 3 par. 6: “The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.”

“To dismiss” is not included.

Since February 5 when the House of Representatives forwarded the impeachment complaint to the Senate, Escudero has repeatedly concocted reasons to delay the start of the impeachment trial.

The cited ground for the motion to dismiss is the alleged violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution which reads: “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”

That is misleading because, although four impeachment complaints had been filed in the House of Representatives, only the consolidated fourth reached the Senate, which contained various grounds such as betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., et al, and other high crimes.

Escudero’s alibi does not resonate well with us Filipinos who demand accountability for the impeachable acts of the vice president. To abort a trial is to free the impeached official from that accountability.

A guilty verdict would remove her from her present post and ban her from running again for any position.

The paradox is that, knowing her Senate allies, VP Sara appears to have the number needed to acquit her (at least 9).  But she is not interested in acquittal; she is more interested in shelving away the pieces of evidence to be presented in the trial.

A trial is bound to prove the evidence contained in the impeachment articles. Even if acquitted, it could derail her chances for the presidency in 2028.

The same fear could be said of the senators with political plans for the same year.

The irony of it all is that she had earlier announced that she was looking forward to her impeachment trial as “an opportunity to answer allegations and clear my name.”

She also said she was ready for a “bloodbath”.  Against whom, she made no mention.

It is public knowledge, however, that she is mad as hell at former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who has been saying that an impeachment trial would prove her — along with his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte and other relatives – guilty of accumulating at least a billion pesos in bank deposits from “drug lords”.

Under the Bank Secrecy Law (Republic Act 1405) all bank deposits are “absolutely confidential,” except when invoked in an impeachment trial.

A decision of “not guilty” following an impeachment trial would therefore trigger more unfavorable comments against Escudero and other senator-judges in the media.

While writing this, I was watching a video clip of Inday Sara announcing that she is still the front-runner for the 2028 presidential race, citing a “non-commissioned survey” by research firm Tangere.

Believe it, or not!