MANILA, Philippines – Iginiit ng isang constitutional law professor na ang mga senator-judge sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Z. Duterte ay dapat na ‘impartial.’
Ani Atty. Jennifer Arlene Reyes, ang mga miyembro ng impeachment court ay dapat na alalahanin na ang pinaglilingkuran nila ay ang interes ng mga Filipino at hindi ng ka-alyado o ka-partido.
“Since the constitution expressly provides that they, as the sole judges of the impeachment case, must try and decide this proceeding, then we cannot do anything but to hope that they will let their conscience and political will [prevail] and not their biases and alliances,” aniya.
“To put it bluntly, dapat mahiya sila sa taong bayan. Dapat ang pa-iralin nila ay ang loyalty nila sa constitution dahil ang constitution ay ang sambayanang Pilipino.”
“They should always be reminded that they are the senators of the Filipino people and not of a particular public official or a particular individual,” dagdag pa ni Reyes.
“They are the representatives of the people. They must always prove to the Filipino people that they deserve the votes of the populace. You are the senator-judge but you manifestly show partiality or bias.”
Dahil dito ay hinamon niya ang mga senador na magkaroon naman ng delicadeza sa paglilitis.
“Delicadeza is free. I appeal to them if they still have delicadeza and they still respect the Filipino people, stop being partial or at least have the decency to inhibit themselves from this proceeding,” dagdag niya.
Matatandaan na noong Martes ay bumoto ang Senado, umuupo bilang impeachment court, ng 18-5 pabor para ibalik ang Articles of Impeachment laban kay Duterte sa Kamara. RNT/JGC
