Amid SC Questions, House of Representatives Insists ‘Separation of Powers’
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – The lower chamber insisted the separation of powers in refusing to answer 3 questions from the Supreme Court over Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment complaint.
Amid the doubts on whether the impeachment trial will push through or not, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) previously claimed that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is ‘ready and eager’ to present her evidence in the impeachment trial. On the other side, the OVP also asserted that the dismissal of the case may allegedly be beneficial for the country.
According to OVP spokesperson Atty. Ruth Castelo, if the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Duterte will be dismissed by the Supreme Court, the Philippine government will allegedly be able to save millions and millions of money. The high Court has recently released its queries over the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
However, based on a report on Inquirer, the House of Representatives did not answer all the questions of the Supreme Court over the impeachment complaint against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. The lower chamber cited the ‘separation of powers’ in not responding to three (3) queries of the high Court.
“Being a co-equal branch, the Congress is entitled to respect with regard to those matters which are within its exclusive jurisdiction,” the House of Representatives wrote in its 16-page compliance to the Supreme Court through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
Based on the report, the House of Representatives refused to tell the Supreme Court which office or committee prepared the draft of the Articles of Impeachment as well as the date when it was circulated among the members of the chamber. The House also declined to respond to whether or not the articles of impeachment were accompanied by evidence for every article charged.
Before the 19th Congress adjourned, the Senate impeachment court ruled to return the Articles of Impeachment against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives. The senator judges asked about the constitutionality of the impeachment of the Vice President.
Recently, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero claimed that five (5) out of 11 questions of the Supreme Court to the House were allegedly the same queries that the Senate impeachment court asked the prosecution team. He also stressed that they will not rush the impeachment process amid the calls to start the trial now.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero also refused to inhibit from the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. The calls for him to inhibit came after many Filipinos believe that the Senate allegedly delays the trial of the Vice President.