Sen. Bato dela Rosa Believes Senate No Longer has Jurisdiction over Duterte Impeachment Case
BATO DELA ROSA – The former Philippine National Police or PNP chief-turned-Senator claimed in a speech at the Senate that the Holy Spirit guides him all the time.
Even after taking his oath as the presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero is firm that Duterte’s impeachment trial will be in the 20th Congress citing there is no more time. He also stressed that the upper chamber is not at fault in the delay as the House of Representatives filed it in the last days of their session.
The reading of the articles of impeachment against Duterte was supposedly scheduled last June 2 but it was moved by Escudero to June 11. According to him, they will prioritize their legislative agenda citing that the 19th Congress will adjourn on June 30. However, such move did not sit well with many Filipinos who maintain the call to immediately start the trial.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros previously bared the Senate Minority’s plan to request for the opening of Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday. According to her, it will not take so much time. The moves of Hontiveros and Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel has let to Escudero taking his oath as the impeachment court’s presiding officer.
Yesterday, the rest of the senators took their oath as senator-judges in the impeachment trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. The lawmakers wore their robes except for senators Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, and Cynthia Villar. They are the other known Duterte-allies aside from senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa.
After convening as an impeachment court, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano filed a motion to return the articles of impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives. With the 18-5 voting, it was approved. Meanwhile, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero clarified that the return of Duterte’s impeachment to the House does not equate to the dismissal of the case.
According to the Senate President, the move is to give the prosecutors a chance to respond to the questions. He also stressed that summons will be issued against the Vice President to prove that the case is not dismissed. However, Sen. Bato dela Rosa has a different view on it.
Based on a post of GMA Integrated News on YouTube, in his speech at the Senate, Sen. Bato dela Rosa expressed his belief that the Senate allegedly no longer has jurisdiction over the impeachment case since the articles of impeachment will be returned to the House. He believes that there must be no issuance of summons yet.
“We returned it. So bakit pa tayo magpapatuloy sa pagbibigay ng subpoena sa respondent kung binalik natin. Siguro kung mabalik na ‘yun sa’tin, saka pa tayo… mag-iisyu ng summons,” dela Rosa said based on the post.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa stressed that he is not a lawyer and his statement only stems from his own understanding of the matter. The former PNP chief-turned-Senator also claimed that he is always guided by the Holy Spirt.
“That’s my humble understanding. Again, I am not a lawyer, Mr. President. Nag-iisip lang. I am just guided by the Holy Spirt, Mr. President. To be honest, Holy Spirit is guiding me all the time,” the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief-turned-Senator said.
Aside from Dela Rosa, another Duterte-ally who seeks the dismissal of the impeachment case versus Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is Sen. Robin Padilla who recently reaffirmed his loyalty to the Duterte family.