Pangilinan admits Senators discussing resolution on impeachment since SONA

PANGILINAN ADMITS SENATORS DISCUSSING RESOLUTION ON IMPEACHMENT SINCE SONA

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan admitted that he had been in talks with senators since the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28 about signing a Senate resolution he drafted with Senators Risa Hontiveros and Bam Aquino about how they can proceed with Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.

The three earlier issued a joint statement opposing the Supreme Court (SC) decision halting the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

"After we had that statement, we brought it (resolution) to the attention of the majority in the caucus. But before that, I presented it during the SONA to some of the other senators, who said they would review it," Pangilinan said in an interview on Rappler's "In The Public Square" on Wednesday, July 30.

So far, the resolution was signed by Pangilinan, Aquino, Hontiveros, and Senate Minority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III. The resolution has yet to be filed and it is currently being reviewed by other Senators.

Based on the observations by former Supreme Court Justice Adolf Azcuna, the senator explained that the resolution is urging the high court "to harmonize what appears to be conflicting provisions of the Constitution" because "you don't use one provision of the Constitution to defeat another."

He argued that the House of Representatives, in impeaching Duterte and transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate in February, operated based on a previous ruling that said an impeachment proceeding is "initiated" by a verified complaint referred to the House Committee on Justice.

The SC ruled that the non-referral of the first three impeachment complaints was an act of dismissal, so an impeachment based on the fourth complaint violated the one-year bar rule.

"The House was guided by the Francisco ruling, so that should be valid. And then for the future, if you want the new definition to apply, (it's) for future cases," Pangilinan said.

The Senate is scheduled to convene on August 6 to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on Duterte's impeachment trial.

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