It’s not over yet for VP Sara

By Herbert Vego

THE newly-opened 20^th Congress is not wholly in agreement with the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional for having violated Article XI Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which states that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”

Their objection sprang from the High Court’s interpretation that the House of Representatives as impeachment initiator had already initiated three impeachment complaints ahead of the fourth one.

But the position of the House which forwarded the 4th impeachment complaint to the Senate was that the first three complaints had been archived and therefore did not trigger the one-year bar on new impeachment complaints.

The SC had focused on technicality but ignored the primordial substance of the complaint.

Therefore, senators and congressmen are filing a motion for recommendation. They want to push through with the impeachment trial.

At least three senators — Risa Hontiveros, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Bam Aquino – have openly criticized the SC ruling in a joint statement, which partly reads, “If we allow this precedent to stand, we risk silencing the very process meant to keep power in check.”

I agree. The ruling is tantamount to absolving the vice-president of alleged violations of the Constitution.

The majority in the House of Representatives is expected to follow their leader, Speaker Martin Romualdez, who urged them to stand by him in his speech after he was reelected the chamber’s leader on Monday, insisting that the power to initiate impeachment is the exclusive domain of the House.

“The Court may close a case,” he stressed, “but it cannot close a cause. The pursuit of accountability is not a moment. It is a mandate.”

The Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Vice President’s petition questioning the constitutionality of her impeachment for alleged violations of the one-year bar against more than one complaint against the same impeachable official and of due process.

The House, through a resolution signed by 215 members of the House, had accused VP Sara of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes, particularly her alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds, and her threat to have President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated should an alleged plot to kill her succeed.

Activists and civil society groups have egged on the Senate to proceed with the trial in defiance of the High Court, which may not be that easy on the obvious reality that most of the senators are still sympathetic to the Dutertes.

Kung ano ang pinakain ni Aling Sara sa kanila, ewan ko.

-oOo-

FOR ONE PROVINCE, ONE RATE, ONE SERVICE

MY previous column which dealt with the possibility of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) energizing the entire province of Iloilo has drawn positive responses.

Take for example retired Prosecutor Rolando “Landic” Nielo of Miag-ao town who expressed in a Facebook post the hope that “makalambot man service kang MORE sa Miag-ao sa madali nga tiempo.”   

Miag-ao is one of the  municipalities of the 1st District serviced solely by the Iloilo Electric Cooperative-1 (ILECO 1).

The wish for MORE is understandable, primarily because of its better service and lower rates

Another reason is the likelihood of going renewable soon through solar energy.

As previously published here, MORE Power has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for a multi-billion-peso investment that would explore widespread use of renewable energy and battery storage in Western Visayas and Palawan.

My friend Casiano Mayor, a retired Filipino editor-in-chief of the Saudi Gazette, is as excited.  He believes it’s about time we reduced reliance on expensive fossil fuels.