Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can call a special session without the request of lawmakers, former Senate President Franklin Drilon said.
The call for a special session comes amid the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, which has yet to be tackled by the Senate. Congress is already on break and will resume session on June 2.
READ: June trial, special session: options in Duterte impeachment
“If the senators ask for this, yes,” Marcos previously said when asked in a news conference his openness to calling a special session.
“Hindi kailangan na hilingin ng senador o ng Senate president, may kapangyarihan ang presidente on his own absolute discretion, pwede siyang tumawag,” Drilon said on Sunday, Feb, 9.
[Translation: It’s not needed for a senator or the Senate president to request for a special session. The president has the power, on his own absolute discretion, to call for the special session.]
He also argued that Marcos “becomes less credible” if he won’t call a special session
“Hindi naman mangyayari ang impeachment kung ang political leader ay hindi papayag at walang masama don,” Drilon said.
“The president is the political leader of the country… siya ang may kapangyarihan na tumawag ng special session, at hindi kailangan ang excuses,” he added.
[Translation: The impeachment will not happen if the political leader does not approve of it and there’s nothing wrong with that. The president is the political leader of the country. He has the power to call a special session and it does not need excuses.]
Drilon clarified the special session is to convene Congress. He believes calling a special session will not only be limited to tackling bills.
“Special session para mag-convene ang Kongreso at sa proseso ng pag nag-convene na, ‘yun na umpisahan ng impeachment trial sa pamamagitan ng pag-refer ng impeachment complaint sa impeachment court,” he said.
[Translation: The special session will convene Congress, and in that process, the proceedings for the impeachment trial can start through the referral of the impeachment complaint to the impeachment court.]
On Saturday, Senate President Chiz Escudero said impeachment is not a valid reason to call for a special session during the congressional break.
“Espesyal ba si VP Sara para tratuhin naming espesyal ito [Is Vice President Sara so special that we should treat her case differently]?” Escudero also said on calls to immediately convene the impeachment court.
He previously explained that while the Constitution states the Senate “shall forthwith proceed” with a trial upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment from the House of Representatives, it does not specify an immediate timeline.
The House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate secretary-general the impeachment complaint against Duterte, which had 215 signatures, during the last session day of Congress on Feb. 5 before a four-month break.
It exceeded the required one-third signatures of representatives for the case to be automatically transmitted to the Senate for trial.
