Sen. Risa Hontiveros To Block Motion Asking If Senate will Proceed w/ Impeachment Trial
RISA HONTIVEROS – The Senator insisted that the Senate, as an impeachment court, already has the jurisdiction over Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The Senate impeachment court previously ruled the return of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives. The senator judges questioned the constitutionality of the impeachment and sought for a reconfirmation from the 20th Congress to tackle the issue.
Eighteen (18) senator judges voted in favor of the remand of Duterte’s impeachment. Only five (5) senator judges opposed to it. Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero clarified that the return of Duterte’s impeachment has no intention to dismiss the case. He stressed that summons will be sent to the Vice President.
YES
- Alan Peter Cayetano
- Pia Cayetano
- Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
- JV Ejercito
- Chiz Escudero
- Jinggoy Estrada
- Bong Go
- Lito Lapid
- Loren Legarda
- Imee Marcos
- Robin Padilla
- Bong Revilla
- Francis Tolentino
- Raffy Tulfo
- Joel Villanueva
- Cynthia Villar
- Mark Villar
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
NO
- Koko Pimentel
- Risa Hontiveros
- Sherwin Gatchalian
- Grace Poe
- Nancy Binay
Sen. Risa Hontiveros stressed that there is no return in the Constitution. Former Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel also emphasized that there is no concept of “return to sender” in the legal process. According to former Sen. Tito Sotto, the duty of the senator judges is to simply ask clarifications and not introduce motions.
Amid the issues on the return of Duterte’s impeachment which some senators and former senators called “unconstitutional”, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero stressed that there are allegedly no limitations as to what the impeachment court can decide on. He confirmed that the impeachment court can even dismiss the case with a simple majority vote.
Recently, Sen. Risa Hontiveros spoke anew on the impeachment process of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Based on a report on Inquirer, the opposition Senator confirmed that she will block the motion of known Duterte ally Sen. Bato dela Rosa asking senators if they are willing to push through with the trial.
“It’s already in our hands. Why else would we surrender it? That equates to us surrendering our duty,” Hontiveros said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said she does not know of any court that asks others if they have the jurisdiction when they already have it. Based on the report, the Senator stressed her expectation for the Senate to be protective of its jurisdiction as an impeachment court.
“It’s not conditional as to whether we’re willing or in the mood. It’s our duty, the constitution orders us to comply, and we should be willing and able, and since it has already crossed, it’s already our responsibility. It’s no longer a question of whether we’re willing or not. We should be,” the Senator added.
Currently, with the opening of the 20th Congress, aside from the questions about the impeachment trial, there are also speculations on who might take the lead. The Duterte bloc, through Sen. Bato dela Rosa, has announced their bet for the Senate presidency.