On impeachment and public accountability

By Michael Henry Yusingco, LL.M

The past couple of weeks have not been good for Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte. She is being accused of committing several crimes by her political adversaries. And it appears that they equate removing her from her post and permanently disqualifying her from holding any other public offices as the way to hold her accountable. This goes against conventional thinking that being accountable for crimes should include jail time.

The VP has not really acquitted herself with her public outbursts. Consequently, demands for accountability have been reverberating in the public sphere. Oddly, the loudest voices are pointing to impeachment as the way to hold the VP accountable for the alleged crimes she has committed. Begging the question, why not pursue criminal indictments now given that the VP does not enjoy immunity from suit?

It is truly perplexing, at least from the criminal liability standpoint, why impeachment seems to be the favored mode of exacting accountability from the VP.  On this point, the decision of the Supreme Court in Re: Letter of Mrs. Ma. Cristina Roco Corona [A.M. No. 20-07-10-SC, January 12, 2021] is worth noting, to wit:

“Impeachment is, thus, designed to remove the impeachable officer from office, not punish him. It is purely political, and it is neither civil, criminal, nor administrative in nature. No legally actionable liability attaches to the public officer by a mere judgment of impeachment against him or her, and thus lies the necessity for a separate conviction for charges that must be properly filed with courts of law.”

Clearly, impeachment is not a criminal proceeding, even though alleged crimes form the basis of an impeachment complaint. It is not a judicial proceeding, even though judgement is rendered against the public official sought to be impeached. Extracting accountability for the criminal offenses laid out in the impeachment complaint must still be pursued through the criminal justice system by the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman.

Impeachment is a constitutional tool for Congress to remove specific high ranking public officials to safeguard the integrity of the constitution, to protect democracy and good governance, and to preserve the public’s trust of the government. These are its lofty objectives, but impeachment does not exact any criminal accountability for the grounds contemplated in the impeachment complaints.

As previously alluded to, impeachment can only lead to two outcomes. As per Article XI, Section 3. 7.:

“Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment, according to law.”

Given the limited scope of impeachment, pursuing it only makes sense if the objective is to preclude the VP from ever becoming President. Former Senator Sonny Trillanes expressed as much via a post on X last November 29:

“If any serious “accident” befalls on the President from now until 2028, Sara, as VP, succeeds as president. That thought alone should send shivers down our spine because we all witnessed her psychotic episodes. If this happens, for sure like her father, she would abuse the immense power of the president.”

The goal of holding the VP criminally accountable is merely secondary. For those pushing for impeachment, criminal indictments must take a back seat. They will be pursued after she is removed from office. Begging more questions that need to be asked. Will the criminal cases be chased with the same vigor? Will society still have the resolve to make sure she pays for her crimes after going through an acrimonious and vitriolic political exercise?

In a media interview, President Bongbong Marcos expressed an interesting position on efforts to impeach the VP. He said, “This is not important. This does not make any difference to even one single Filipino life. So, why waste time on this?” Some say this is his way of insulating himself from any political backlash. But one can also wonder whether he is implying there is another way to hold her accountable other than impeachment.

Ultimately, the fate of the impeachment complaints rests on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Martin Romualdez. Will he allow the process to proceed as per the constitution and the rules? Or will he heed the advice of President Marcos? Will the rule of law prevail or will dynastic politics reign supreme? Even more questions to keep the people occupied during the yuletide season.