Senator Robinhood Padilla said the Senate minority bloc should oppose any move to designate Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as the presiding officer of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Kailangan naming i-oppose yun bilang kami ay minorya. Bilang kami, ay trabaho namin yun,” Padilla told reporters.
He clarified that opposing the move does not mean the minority bloc intends to create conflict, stressing that it is part of its role to provide checks and balances on the majority.
“Hindi ibig sabihin nag-aaway kami ah. Yun po ang trabaho ng minorya. I-check namin… check and balance namin yung majority,” he said.
Padilla’s remarks came after Senator Panfilo Lacson disclosed that members of the incoming Senate majority bloc had initially agreed to elect Escudero as the presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court that will hear the case against Duterte.
However, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the matter has yet to be finalized and remains subject to discussion among senators.
Padilla said the Constitution designates the Senate president to preside over impeachment proceedings and questioned whether Gatchalian would agree to relinquish the role.
“Siguro ang dapat tanungin kung papayag ba si SP Win. Kasi sa Constitution ang nakalagay dun ang dapat mag-preside eh Senate president,” he said.
The senator added that members of the minority bloc have yet to discuss the issue among themselves.
“Matagal na kaming mga ilang araw na kaming hindi nakakapag-usap ng Minority magmula noong pumunta sila nung special session,” Padilla said.
Under the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, the Senate president is mandated to preside over impeachment proceedings. However, proposed Senate Resolution No. 430 seeks to amend the rules by allowing senators to elect a presiding officer of the impeachment court through a majority vote of members present.
Vice President Sara Duterte is facing an impeachment trial over allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte for the second time in May. The Senate convened as an impeachment court on May 18, while Duterte’s camp filed its answer to the Articles of Impeachment on June 1, seeking the dismissal of the case.
The pre-trial conference for Duterte’s impeachment case formally began on June 18.
