Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

Senate can convene, start VP Sara Duterte trial 'if there's a will' — Carpio

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1739074573198Carpio.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio speaks to a media forum on Feb. 9, 2025 on Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s impeachment</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Senate can convene and hold a special session to try impeached Vice President Sara Duterte “as long as there is a will,” former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Sunday.</p><p>Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero earlier said there is no legal basis for a special session, which can be called to pass urgent legislation but not for an impeachment trial. </p><p>But Carpio said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could call for a special session for Congress to work on legislation.</p><p>“Pwede gawin &#x27;yan and then sabihin niya, &#x27;Okay I will give you 25 days to convene a special session. Madali lang naman i-amend ang [General Appropriations Act], so may extra sila na 20 to 24 days. Kahit 20 days, kaya na yan, so they can now convene an impeachment court because there is a session. That’s one way to do it,” said Carpio. </p><p>(What can be done is for the President to say &#x27;Okay, I will give you 25 days to convene a special session. It will be easy to amend the GAA, so that would give tgen 20 to 24 days extra. Even 20 days. So they can now convene an impeachment court because there is a session)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/8/escudero-no-need-to-call-special-session-for-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-1811">Escudero: No need to call special session for Sara Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial<br/></a></div><div><strong>TOO LITTLE TIME EVEN WITH SPECIAL SESSION </strong></div><p>Carpio said, however, that the Senate will be pressed for time even if that special session is called since a respondent has 10 calendar days to submit their comment or answer. </p><p>“Matagal yun, 10 calendar days. So talagang maiiwan diyan sa 20 days kaunti na lang (That is a long time, 10 calendar days. So you will not have a lot of time left in those 20 days)…&quot; Carpio said.</p><p>He said the Senate could save time by having witnesses submit judicial affidavits to make cross-examination easier.</p><p>“Kaya yun. Three days for prosecutor, three days sa respondent kapag may judicial affidavit (That can be done. Three days for the prosecution, three days for the respondent, if you have a judicial affidavit),” he said. </p><p>“Tingin ko pwede (I think it can be done) if there’s a will,” he said.</p><p>He said that if the impeachment trial cannot proceed during the break, it will likely be carried over to the 20th Congress, which will convene in June, after the midterm elections.</p><p>Under the 1987 Constitution, a verified impeachment complaint by at least a third of the 306-member House will &quot;constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/8/1987-constitution-framer-says-senate-must-act-on-vp-sara-impeachment-despite-break-1049">&#x27;Dapat pag-usapan na&#x27;: 1987 Constitution framer says Senate must act on VP Sara impeachment despite break</a></div><div><strong>TRIAL DID NOT START IMMEDIATELY IN PAST IMPEACHMENT CASES</strong></div><p>Carpio said that while the 1987 Constitution mandates the Senate to start trial immediately, &quot;several weeks passed&quot; between impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in March 2011 and of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in December of the same year before trial began.</p><p>Gutierrez resigned as ombudsman in April of that year, before trial could start. The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, eventually convicted Corona for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution in 2012.</p><p>“Parang my interpretation there is ‘as soon as you can’ kasi hindi naman puwede agad,” he Carpio said. “Ang solution diyan is mag-call ng special session.&quot;</p><p>(My interpretation there is &#x27;as soon as you can&#x27; because it&#x27;s not possible to do it at once. The solution there is to call a special session)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/8/batangas-rep-explains-why-house-opted-for-4th-complaint-to-impeach-vp-sara-duterte-1022">Batangas rep explains why House opted for 4th complaint to impeach VP Sara Duterte<br/></a></div><div><strong>ESCUDERO: IT&#x27;S NOT THAT SIMPLE</strong></div><p>Escudero has balked at calls to have the Senate cut its break short, saying it can take the articles of impeachment up when Congress comes back from break in June.</p><p>He said that aside from including the impeachment trial in the Senate&#x27;s agenda, there are other processes that need to be done before trial can start.</p><p>&quot;Marami pang kailangang gawin. Rules and regulations ng impeachment. Pag-re-require sa mga partidong sumagot. Magsasagutan pa &#x27;yan. Dadaan sa pretrial lahat &#x27;yan… Kaya nga pretrial and hindi pa trial. &#x27;Yong actual na trial bago kami dumating do&#x27;n mahaba pa ang  proseso,&quot; said Escudero.</p><p>(There is so much to be done. Rules and regulations of the impeachment. Requiring the parties to respond. And then they will respond to each other. That will all go through pretrial. That&#x27;s why it&#x27;s pretrial and not yet the trial. The actual trial... there is a long process before we even get to that)</p>

<p>Carpio said, however, that the Senate will be pressed for time even if that special session is called.</p>

Carpio said, however, that the Senate will be pressed for time even if that special session is called.