Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo Believes VP Sara Duterte’s Impeachment Trial Should Proceed in 20th Congress
ERWIN TULFO – The incoming Senator expressed his personal view that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should push through in the 20th Congress.
The Senate impeachment court remand the Articles of Impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives. According to Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero, the return of Duterte’s impeachment to the House does not mean that the case is dismissed nor terminated. He stressed that the sending of summons to the Vice President proves it.
The Senate impeachment court approved a motion to remand Duterte’s impeachment over the issue of constitutionality as well as seeking for a reconfirmation from the 20th Congress. Eighteen (18) senator judges approved the motion while five (5) senator judges opposed to it.
Here are the senator judges who supported the motion to remand Duterte’s impeachment to the House as well as those who opposed to it:
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
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel who admitted that he is saddened by the remand of Duterte’s impeachment stressed that there is no concept of “return to sender” in the legal process. Sen. Risa Hontiveros, half of the two-member minority bloc in the Senate, stressed that remand is not in the Constitution.
Several former senators including former Senate Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile also believe that the Senate should have acted with reasonable speed on the impeachment process. The former Senate President who was part of two (2) impeachment trials in the past stressed that “forthwith” is clear in the Constitution unless it has been changed.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero stressed that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial will start in the 20th Congress citing very limited time. The 19th Congress has recently adjourned and a new set of senators is expected to join the next Congress. One of them is senator-elect Erwin Tulfo.
The victory of incoming Sen. Erwin Tulfo brings two (2) Tulfos in the Senate as he is set to join his brother, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, in the chamber. Recently, the Senator-elect expressed his personal view over the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.
Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo said the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte should proceed to the 20th Congress. According to him, if the Vice President is not guilty, the case will be dismissed. Otherwise, the senator judges have no choice but to convict her.
“Personally, why not? Kung the VP is not guilty then so be it, let’s dismiss the case…Pero kung the evidence will really ika nga, ididiin siya doon, then we don’t have a choice,” Tulfo said based on a post on ABS-CBN News.
Based on a report on PhilStar, Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo also claimed that the House may refile the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte in the 20th Congress. According to him, it was already the plan even before the Senate impeachment court’s decision to remand the Articles of Impeachment.
Previously, the House maintained that the impeachment of Duterte was constitutional. House Speaker Martin Romualdez also defended Duterte’s impeachment saying the chamber did not act out of haste.