Sotto blasts impeachment remand; court defends ruling

Metro Manila, Philippines - In a strongly worded rebuke, Senator-elect Vicente “Tito” Sotto III criticized senator-judges for what he described as a flawed decision to remand the impeachment articles against Vice President Sara Duterte, urging them to revisit the rules to avoid future mistakes.

“[The] Senate Court’s decision is flawed! A senator judge cannot file a motion,” Sotto, who will also sit as senator-judge in the 20th Senate, told reporters in a text message on Friday, June 13.

“Defense or Prosecution counsels lang ang pwede. Sen. Miriam [Defensor Santiago] who was a former RTC judge taught me that in the 11th Congress. Senator judges can only ask questions for clarifications,” he added.

He was referring to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s motion to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives - an amended version of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s original motion to dismiss - which passed in an overwhelming 18-5 vote on Tuesday, June 10.

When asked how the mistake could be “corrected” now that the articles have been remanded, Sotto said the senator-judges should move forward, learn from the error, and consider replacing their legal advisers.

“Iwan na lang nila yun sa basurahan ng kasaysayan. Huwag na lang ulitin at mag review mga senator judges ng trabaho ng judge. At ‘yung mga abogado nilang nakapaligid sa kanila ay palitan,” he said.

[Translation: They should just leave that in the dustbin of history. Don’t repeat it, and the senator-judges should review the duties of a judge. Also, they should replace the lawyers surrounding them.]

“I suggest the present crop of senators specially the newer ones to back read our records and debates in the 11th Congress when the first impeachment was well discussed by Miriam and others. The reason for the robe and the decorum. Aral aral muna bago putak (Study first before speaking out)!” he added, referring to then Senator-judge Miriam Defensor Santiago during the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada.

The spokesperson of the Impeachment Court, lawyer Regie Tongol, maintained that senator-judges—like justices of the Supreme Court—have the power and authority to scrutinize the documents presented to them and to bring any insufficiencies to the court’s attention.

“So walang impropriety doon, no? It is normal in a collegial judicial body na ganun ang nangyayari because one of the powers, inherent powers of any court is to look into the face of the document, the complaint itself, and see if there are defects in that document,” he said.

“At dito, ni-raise ng isang senator-judge na merong depekto, maaaring merong depekto, at sabi ng korte, o tingnan natin, hingin natin sa kanila para macomply nila kung anuman yung sinasabi mong depekto at kung mako-comply ba yun ng house,” he added.

[Translation: And here, one of the senator-judges raised that there might be a defect, and the court said, let’s look into it, let’s ask them to comply with whatever defect you mentioned and see if the House can comply with it.]

The Impeachment Court set two conditions: that the House certify that the verified impeachment complaint did not violate the Constitution, and that the 20th Congress lawmakers are committed to proceeding with the trial- two legal issues that have sparked debate.

As of Friday morning, Tongol said the court has yet to formally receive the House certification on the first requirement, which has only been released to the media.

When asked if defiance by the House could lead to a contempt citation, Tongol said it is possible but unlikely, noting that such action is a last resort for courts.

“I think hindi rin balak naman ang Impeachment Court na i-contempt yung any person sa House dahil na rin ayaw na rin naman natin makaaway naman yung House in terms of this matter. That's why the impeachment court is doing all its power para hindi magkaroon ng ganong mga banggaan o constitutional crisis na tinatawag,” he said.

[Translation: I don’t think the Impeachment Court intends to hold anyone in the House in contempt because, of course, we also don’t want to create conflict with the House over this matter. That’s why the Impeachment Court is exerting all its efforts to avoid any clashes or what they call a constitutional crisis.]