One-year ban rule applies to impeachment proceedings, not complaints: Colmenares

MANILA — Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares on Tuesday (June 24) countered Vice President Sara Duterte's claims in her Answer Ad Cautelam that the House of Representatives violated the one-year ban rule in filing the impeachment cases.

Duterte's camp cited Section 3 (5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution asserting that the impeachment complaint elevated to the Senate "must be dismissed," saying it violated the Constitutional provision which prohibits more than one impeachment complaint to be initiated against an impeachable official.

In a Headstart interview, Colmenares pointed out that impeachment complaints are not the same as proceedings, insisting the House did not violate the Constitution.

"The Constitution says only one impeachment proceedings shall be initiated, and the fact that there are three complaints filed before, or four, or even 10, doesn't matter because that's what happened with Gloria Arroyo before," Colmenares explained.

He emphasized that no matter how many impeachment complaints filed by the House, there should be only one impeachment proceeding to be held in order to abide with the Constitution.

Section 3 (5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution states that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year."

Colmenares also sees no reason for the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the impeachment complaints.

"If they feel that it will traverse or go to the next Congress, then that's their decision. But the fact is, I don't see any reason or ground why they will dismiss it. Because for me the one-year bar rule is an absurd argument," he added.

When asked for a possible voting in the impeachment court catering a petition to dismiss, Colmenares maintains that the Senate is bound with its Constitutional duty to try and decide, saying "outright dismissal" is a violation of the Constitution.