Former Senate Pres. Franklin Drilon Speaks on Power of Pres. Bongbong Marcos To Call for Special Session
FRANKLIN DRILON – The former Senate President spoke on the alleged decision of President Bongbong Marcos to delay the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.
One of the biggest issue in the Philippine political arena now is the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte after the House lawmakers approved her impeachment. Two-thirds of the lawmakers in the lower chamber signed the impeachment of the Vice President.
In fact, presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos is one of those who signed the impeachment raps versus Vice Pres. Duterte. His decision is amid Pres. Bongbong Marcos previously expressing his opposition towards an impeachment move against the Vice President.
According to Pres. Marcos, an impeachment move will not benefit the Filipino people. He stressed that it will only tie up the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Senate session is currently in recess and is set to resume in June. Previously, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero issued a proposed timeline for the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. According to the Senate Chief, the move is to give his fellow lawmakers a chance to review the proposed schedule. It will need the nod of the senators.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero has also repeatedly refused to call for a special session nor convene an impeachment court amid the recess. According to Escudero, he will not violate the law even if 1 million signatures will call for the start of the impeachment trial.
Prior to his statement, Malacañang explained why Pres. Bongbong Marcos is not requesting the Senate for a special session. According to Palace press officer Undersecretary Attorney Claire Castro, doing so will put the President in an “awkward position” saying that he is linked as the mastermind behind the impeachment moves.
Castro said that it will be better if the Senate President or the senators will write to Pres. Marcos to make a request for a special session. According to the Palace Press Officer, the President will do so despite his previous pronouncements.
However, according to former Senate Pres. Franklin Drilon, there is allegedly a deeper reason why Pres. Bongbong Marcos is allegedly delaying the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Based on a report on Daily Guardian, the former Senate Chief aired his suspicion on the matter.
“I suspect that the reason why the president is not calling for a special session is political. It doesn’t make much sense to conduct the impeachment trial before the elections,” Franklin Drilon said.
According to the former Senate President, holding the impeachment trial before the elections will allegedly make the senators “subject to pressure from all sides”. He claimed that whoever has the greatest influence has the biggest possibility of getting the results that they want.
Based on the report, former Senate Pres. Franklin Drilon also stressed that the power of Pres. Bongbong Marcos to call for a special session is absolute. According to him, the incumbent senators do not have to make a request for the Chief Executive to call for it.
“No amount of petitions for a special session would affect the president’s authority to call one,” the former Senate Leader said.
Previously, the brother of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, Davao Mayor Baste Duterte, expressed his side on the impeachment issues against his sister.