Impeachment trial to cross over to 20th Congress - Marcos

Metro Manila, Philippines - The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will likely continue into the 20th Congress, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, noting the impracticality of concluding proceedings in the current legislature..

“Why? What is the controversy? It is very clear that it will [carry over]. Because there is no way that even if they start the trial now, that they will finish it before the new senators come in. So, well, again, the senators will decide,” the president said.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero took his oath as impeachment court presiding officer Monday evening, June 9, after a five-hour intense debate on the processes and constitutionality of holding a trial. All senators agreed to take their oath on Tuesday, June 10, and convene the court on June 11, after which the 19th Congress goes into sine die adjournment until noon of June 30.

Marcos said the issue rests on the Senate and that he trusts the chamber’s leadership to manage the process.

“We leave it to them,” he told reporters.

“It has already moved from the House (of Representatives). It has now been in the Senate for a few months. We are watching, of course, what the Senate president, Chiz Escudero, is doing to try to make it as peaceful a transition as possible from this Congress to the next,” he added.

Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino had argued that the impeachment proceedings must end within the 19th Congress and the process cannot be carried over.

Citing Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution, Tolentino said the Senate must proceed with the impeachment trial “forthwith,” or immediately and without undue delay.

“The command of the Constitution is clear. ‘Forthwith’ is not a suggestion. It is a legal imperative,” he said, citing Supreme Court decisions to support his opinion that the Senate is not a continuing body, which means pending proceedings must lapse when the third regular session ends on June 30.

Tolentino said continuing the trial into the 20th Congress is beyond constitutional authority.