Sherwin Gatchalian on Sara Duterte Impeachment: ‘The trial needs to begin, so there is transparency’

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian Speaks on Impeachment Process of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte

SHERWIN GATCHALIAN – The Senator expressed his belief that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte “needs to begin” for transparency.

Currently, there are a lot of doubts if the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte will push through. The senators also have different takes on the issue. In the 20th Congress, a new set of senators will join the existing senators who have previously taken their oath as senator judges of the impeachment court.

The Senate impeachment court previously returned the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives. The senator judges question the constitutionality of the impeachment case against the Vice President and also sought for a reconfirmation from the 20th Congress.

Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero previously clarified that the return of Duterte’s impeachment to the House does not equate to a dismissal or termination of the impeachment case. According to him, it is an opportunity for the House to answer questions.

However, as for House speaker Martin Romualdez, they did not act out of haste on Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s impeachment and the move of the Senate is allegedly “deeply concerning”. The House passed a certification that the impeachment is constitutional. Several senators also expressed their belief that the impeachment trial must push through.

According to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, he expects that the defense will raise a motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte but he believes that the trial should push through. Based on a report on PhilStar, he stressed that the public needs to hear both sides.

“In my opinion, the trial needs to begin, so that the arguments from both parties will be heard by and presented to the public, so there is transparency,” he said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said there might be voting on a motion to dismiss the impeachment case. According to him, he is sure that the defense lawyers will invoke the constitutionality of the Articles of Impeachment.

Sen Sherwin Gatchalian is one of the five (5) senators who voted against the remand of the Articles of Impeachment to the House. However, 18 senator judges approved the motion.

Previously, senator-elect Ping Lacson claimed that a senator-judge making a motion to dismiss an impeachment case would be a laughingstock.