Only the Supreme Court can be neutral in impeachment trial — Sen. ‘Bato’
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/June 12) — If the public wants neutrality in handling Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said only the Supreme Court can fulfill that role, not the politicians who compose the Senate.
The former Philippine National Police chief, at the sidelines of the city government’s Independence Day celebration Thursday morning at San Pedro Square here, told reporters that it may be necessary to “amend the Constitution” and stipulate that the Supreme Court should serve as the impeachment court.
“Kung gusto mo ng neutral talaga, huwag mo gamitin ang mga politiko as judges. You amend the Constitution na impeachment court should be manned by Supreme Court justices,” he said. (If you really want true neutrality, don’t let politicians serve as judges. Just amend the Constitution so that the impeachment court is composed of Supreme Court justices instead.)
Dela Rosa, a known ally of the Dutertes and member of the Duterte-led PDP-Laban party, was among the 18 senators who voted “yes” to remand the articles of impeachment back to the House of Representatives for its supposed “constitutional infirmities.”
Together with Dela Rosa are 17 other senator-judges who voted in favor of remanding the impeachment articles back to the House: Alan Peter Cayetano, Bong Revilla, Imee Marcos, JV Ejercito, Bong Go, Loren Legarda, Robinhood Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Raffy Tulfo, and Senate President Chiz Escudero.
Opposing the motion were senator-judges Koko Pimentel, Risa Hontiveros, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, and Sherwin Gatchalian.
The senator-judges said they wanted to be clarified by the House that the impeachment certifies the non-violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which states that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year,” and if the articles of impeachment are binding and can be transitioned to the 20th Congress, whose representatives and senators will start their duty on June 30, 2025.
Dela Rosa argued that if the impeachment was passed by the 20th Congress, that could be unconstitutional, because that could be the second impeachment hearing within a year.
However, after the House of Representatives carried the articles of impeachment to the altar like offerings to a Mass on Wednesday, they decided to defer acceptance of remanded articles of impeachment until the Senate respond to the clarificatory queries of the House prosecution team.
The House affirmed they complied fully with the Constitution.
But Dela Rosa said for now, the Senate has nothing to do yet with the impeachment, not until the House clarifies it formally.
On Feb. 5, Dela Rosa said he will be “maintaining political neutrality” and be “apolitical” once the impeachment trial starts.
Dela Rosa served as the first PNP chief under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte (father of the Vice President)—from July 1, 2016 to April 19, 2018. Dela Rosa was chief of police of Davao City under Mayors Sara Duterte and Rodrigo Duterte, from January 30, 2012 to October 18, 2013. Sara was mayor from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2013 while her father returned for a seventh term as mayor on June 30, 2013. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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