By Ade S. Fajardo
As this is being written, the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives is said to be in a race to convince at least 106 signatories to the impeachment complaint it submitted to the secretary general last week to unseat Vice President Sara Duterte.
The target date to complete the signatures was December 9.
This brings back the time when articles of impeachment against former President Joseph Estrada were transmitted to the Senate right after former House Speaker Manny Villar opened the session with a prayer.
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If the Makabayan bloc is successful, this will mean that its complaint will no longer be subjected to the regular process of hearing before the committee on justice which would then transmit its recommendations to the House plenary.
This will mean that the complaint itself will now constitute the articles of impeachment that will be transmitted to the Senate for trial.
This will mean also that the Senate will be compelled as a matter of constitutional duty to constitute itself as an impeachment court and proceed to receive evidence against the Vice President.
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Even if the election period is forthcoming, there will be enough time for trial because the Makabayan complaint presents a single issue: The alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and by the Secretary of Education.
The complaint claims that the VP betrayed public trust by abusing her discretionary powers over more than P600 million in confidential funds taken from public coffers from December 2022 until the third quarter of 2023.
Duterte allegedly made a mockery of the audit process by directing her subordinates to prepare implausible accomplishment reports supported by manufactured liquidation reports and falsified documents.
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Makabayan also claims that Duterte is guilty of dereliction of official duty by obstinately refusing to recognize congressional oversight. She refused to participate in budget deliberations and eschewed congressional authority to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.
Most of these allegations, including express admissions, already form part of public record.
One potential star witness for the prosecution is Raymund Dante Lachica, ground commander of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group. Bags of cash representing confidential funds reportedly went straight to him after the withdrawals made by the special disbursement officer. Within two weeks after he was handed the bags containing the money, Lachica was able to submit an accomplishment report.
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There is worry that even if the Makabayan complaint is transmitted to the Senate it will become legally ineffectual if its current composition is unable to come up with a verdict before June 30, 2025.
After all, the general rule in legislative work is that all matters terminate upon the expiration of one Congress. Action on the Makabayan impeachment will be an act of the 19th Congress whose term expires on June 30, 2025. It will be mooted if there is no conviction before the 20th Congress assumes office.
The solution is to borrow the Renato Corona impeachment timeline./WDJ