MANILA, Philippines – Tatlong pangunahing bagay ang inaasahang mangyayari sa pagbubukas ng impeachment court para sa paglilitis kay Vice President Sara Duterte hinggil sa pitong articles of impeachment, kabilang ang umano’y paglulustay ng pondo ng bayan.
Ayon sa tagapagsalita ng impeachment court, inaasahang maghahain ng mosyon ang kampo ni Duterte upang ipa-dismiss ang impeachment complaint, ayon kay Senate Impeachment Court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol nitong Hunyo 18.
Isa ito sa mga posibleng hakbang ng legal team ni Duterte, ayon kay Tongol sa isang press conference.
Kung hindi ito ang piliing hakbang, aniya, ang ikalawang posibilidad ay ang paghahain ng sagot ng defense team na may affirmative defense na kumukuwestiyon sa hurisdiksyon ng impeachment court.
Aniya, alinman sa mga ito ay tumutugon sa petition for certiorari and prohibition na naunang inihain ng defense team sa Supreme Court (SC). “To recall, Duterte sought the nullification, for alleged constitutional violation, of the impeachment complaints filed against her by the House of Representatives before the Senate for trial.”
Sa kanyang petisyon, hiniling ni Duterte sa SC na magpalabas ng temporary restraining order (TRO) upang pigilan ang Mababang Kapulungan na ituloy ang proseso ng impeachment trial at ipatigil ang Senado na kumilos ukol sa reklamo.
Ipinaliwanag ni Tongol na, “When a lawyer includes ad cautelam in their pleading, it almost always means they’re preparing to question the court’s jurisdiction,” na kanyang pinaniniwalaang alinsunod sa petisyong inihain sa SC na humahamon sa pagpapatuloy ng impeachment process laban sa kanya.
“By filing a formal entry of appearance, ad cautelam, it means the lawyers are not yet recognizing the court’s jurisdiction,” ayon kay Tongol.
“It’s filed to comply and also to avoid waiving their rights. So the expected action from the defense would be to file either an answer with affirmative defenses questioning the jurisdiction or a motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction,” dagdag pa niya.
Sinabi pa ni Tongol na alinsunod ito sa legal strategy ni Duterte.
“The likelihood of that happening is quite high based on experience. Our litigation process is like an equation, when you say 1 + 1, you immediately know it equals 2. It’s the same here: when you file an ad cautelam, you already know that questioning the court’s jurisdiction is the likely tactic of the defense,” aniya.
“As a lawyer, if I don’t want to respond to the specific complaints filed against me, I would file a motion to dismiss, in line with the petition for certiorari and prohibition already filed with the Supreme Court,” dagdag ng abogado.
Ikatlo, aniya, kapag hindi sumagot ang kampo ni Sara sa non-extendable 10-day summons na ipinalabas ng impeachment court, tuloy pa rin ang proseso.
“Under Senate impeachment rules, the trial proceeds even if the respondent fails to answer. The prosecution panel will still present evidence, but the respondent waives her right to present a defense,” paliwanag niya.
Kapag naghain naman ng motion to dismiss, tatalakayin ito sa proseso ng paglilitis kung maaari o hindi maibasura ang articles of impeachment.
“When it comes to voting on this motion, this is one of the vague things that might be put up for debate and vote with the impeachment court,” ayon kay Tongol.
“One school of thought will say just a majority based on the suppletory application of the Senate Rules (as a legislative body), and another school of thought will say because it is an impeachment case, it should be two-thirds vote as provided in the Constitution,” giit niya. Ernie Reyes
