SENATOR-judges cannot discard their impeachment role simply because they disagree with the Senate court’s voting-threshold ruling, House Prosecutor and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said Friday.
Chua was responding to a hypothetical question: Could senators who opposed the ruling relinquish their positions as senator-judges rather than continue participating in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial?
“They will be abandoning their constitutional duty,” Chua said.
He said sitting in the impeachment court is part of the responsibility senators accepted under the Constitution.
“Iyan ang isa sa mga sinumpaang tungkulin nila,” he said.
The Senate acts collectively, Chua added. An individual member cannot treat participation as optional whenever the majority adopts a ruling that member opposes.
“Hindi naman puwede kung ano lang ang gusto mo, iyan lang ang masusunod,” he said.
Each senator-judge took an oath to decide the case with political neutrality. Chua said refusing to perform the role because of one disputed ruling would be inconsistent with that undertaking.
Questions about participation also extended to Duterte’s lawyers. Asked what would happen if the defense did not appear at the next hearing, Private Prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the prosecution would not prejudge its decision. The presiding officer, however, had already addressed the consequence.
“Sabi niya, tuloy ang kaso,” Tolosa recounted.
The trial cannot end solely because one party declines to attend, he explained. Prosecutors must still offer their evidence, and senator-judges must decide the charges on the record before them.
“Hindi natatapos ang obligasyon ng prosecution na magpresenta ng ebidensya at ang obligasyon ng mga senator-judge na magpasya base sa ebidensya dahil lamang ang isang partido ay ayaw nang lumahok,” Tolosa said.
A defense team that voluntarily stays away would give up its opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, Tolosa said, just as a party that skips an ordinary proceeding cannot compel the entire case to stop.
“We’ll continue to present evidence, and the court will continue to hear it,” he said.
Chua said that if Duterte’s lawyers formally withdraw their appearance, the presiding officer may appoint counsel to ensure that she remains represented. He mentioned a Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) lawyer as one possibility, subject to the impeachment court’s decision.
“Puwedeng mag-assign ang ating presiding officer ng abogado para ma-depensahan ang ating Bise Presidente,” Chua said.
Any newly appointed counsel would need time to study the records, which could require a short adjustment in the hearing schedule. That possible delay would not erase the Senate’s duty to finish the trial.
“Dapat tuloy iyong pinag-utos ng Saligang Batas: to try and decide this impeachment case,” Tolosa said.
metrosundaily
