Duterte questions possible crossover of impeachment trial to next Congress

Metro Manila, Philippines - Vice President Sara Duterte said she is questioning the possible crossover of her impeachment trial to the next Congress - amid debates on whether or not proceedings can cross to the incoming 20th Congress.

“Kinu-question din namin yan. ‘Yung pag-crossover from the 19th to the 20th Congress. Dahil ang composition ng House of Rep, yung lawyers ko na lang magsalita,” said Duterte in a chance interview in The Hague, Netherlands on June 3.

[Translation: We also questioned that, the crossover from the 19th to the 20th Congress. Because the composition of the House of Representatives… I’ll let my lawyers speak on the matter.]

The vice president cut her statement short, saying it’s better to ask her lawyers on the matter.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino earlier said the impeachment case can be “functionally dismissed” if the upper chamber cannot conclude the trial by June 30.

Minority lawmakers, however, argued that there is no constitutional or procedural bar to continuing the impeachment trial into the next Congress.

Senate President Chiz Escudero previously maintained that while the impeachment court can convene under the 19th Congress, it cannot bind the 20th Congress - which includes newly elected senators - to adopt its decisions.

READ: Impeachment trial in limbo, fate in 20th Congress hangs

Escudero earlier postponed the presentation of the articles of impeachment from June 2 to June 11, sparking criticisms and allegations that he is protecting the vice president.

Duterte, however, seemed to have defended the Senate leader.

“Sa pagkakilala ko naman kay Senate President Chiz Escudero ay hindi natatakot yun…I do not know him na natatakot na klase na politiko. So, hindi ko lang alam saan nang gagaling yung sinasabi na takot si Sen. Chiz Escudero,” she said.

[Translation: From what I know of Senate President Chiz Escudero, he's not someone who gets scared...I don’t see him as the kind of politician who’s fearful. So I really don’t know where the claim that Senator Chiz Escudero is afraid is coming from.]

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña previously asked Escudero if he is afraid of the vice president, saying the Senate's inaction is a betrayal of its constitutional mandate.