Escudero won鈥檛 summon Duterte on impeach raps: It can鈥檛 legally be done
Senate President Francis Escudero (Photo from the Senate)
MANILA, Philippines — Requiring Vice President Sara Duterte to answer the impeachment case against her cannot be done legally while Congress is on break, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Wednesday.
Escudero made the statement at the weekly “Kapihan sa Manila Bay.”
His remark is in response to the position of House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, who is leading the 11-man prosecution team in the impeachment trial of Duterte.
Libanan and 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez personally filed an “Entry with Motion to Issue Summons” at the Senate on Tuesday.
They are asking Escudero to require Duterte to answer the verified complaint against her.
But the Senate leader said in a mix of English and Filipino, “It can’t legally be done. It’s not allowed because the Senate is not in session.”
The House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte on February 5, 2025, the last day of session of Congress.
It will resume its sessions on June 2.
“That can only be done when Congress is in session. This cannot be done during recess and the difference between the two is clear when it comes to the conduct of Senate hearings,” Escudero said.
“There’s no need to memorize that, so to speak, and he should also know that already,” he added.
It was an apparent reference to Libanan’s observation that the Senate was still able to conduct a hearing last week during the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte even if the chamber was on a break.
But the Senate chief said he does not need to teach Libanan the difference between having a session and recess as they both served together in the House of Representatives.
In fact, Escudero recalled that he was one of the lawmakers who wrote the rules of the House then.
The Senate chief also noted that even in their motion, the impeachment prosecutors acknowledged that the writ of summon can only be issued after the presentation of Articles of Impeachment and the convening of the impeachment court.
“So my question is, have they already presented the Articles of Impeachment in the plenary? Has the court been convened yet? But it hasn’t, right? So the writ of summons is not yet applicable,” Escudero pointed out.
(NOTE: The translations from Filipino to English in the article were AI-generated.)
