Senator-Elect Tito Sotto Cites Senator-Judges Must Not Introduce Motions
TITO SOTTO – The Senator-elect reacted to the decision of the Senate to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives.
Last Tuesday, the rest of the senators took their oath as senator-judges of the impeachment court in the trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Afterwards, the senator-judges voted on the motion made by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to return the articles of impeachment to the House.
Cayetano cited two (2) grounds in the motion to return the articles of impeachment to the House. They are as follows:
- The House of Representatives certified to the non-violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year; include the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints”; and
- The House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicated to the Senate that it was willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
Dressed in their robes except for three (3) senators, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Cynthia Villar, the senator-judges voted on the motion. Eighteen (18) senators were in favor of the motion which brought it to its approval. They are the following:
- Alan Peter Cayetano
- Pia Cayetano
- Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
- JV Ejercito
- Chiz Escudero
- Jinggoy Estrada
- Bong Go
- Lito Lapid
- Loren Legarda
- Imee Marcos
- Robin Padilla
- Bong Revilla
- Francis Tolentino
- Raffy Tulfo
- Joel Villanueva
- Cynthia Villar
- Mark Villar
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
Only five (5) senators opposed the motion to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives. They are the following:
- Koko Pimentel
- Risa Hontiveros
- Sherwin Gatchalian
- Grace Poe
- Nancy Binay
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero clarified that the return of the articles of impeachment against Duterte does not equate to the dismissal of the case. According to him, it is a chance for the prosecution team to answer questions prior to the impeachment court making a judgment.
However, the decision of the Senate impeachment court did not sit well with many people. Senator-elect Tito Sotto, a former Senate President, is one of those who reacted to it.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Sen. Tito Sotto believes that senator-judges should not introduce motions. According to him, senators should refrain from doing motions to maintain impartiality and neutrality.
“Ikaw ang nag-impeachment court e, walang motion na ie-entertain galing sa isang judge. Judge ka e. Ang itsura mo doon you are acting as a counsel for either the defense or the prosecution,” he said.
According to Senator-elect Tito Sotto, during their time, the senator-judges can only ask questions and clarifications. Based on the report, he also disagrees with the Senate’s move to question the constitutionality of the impeachment of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.
“Naipresenta na ba ng mga prosecutors yung articles of impeachment para masabi ninyong may infirmities?” he said.
Senatore-elect Tito Sotto also disagreed with the move of Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero during the counting of votes on the motion. He also left a strong remark to those who did not abide by the parliamentary procedures.
“For example, pinapanood ko sila, kung sino-sinong nagtataas ng kamay. Nire-recognize naman ng Senate President. Hindi ganoon. Yung majority leader ang nagsasabi kung sinong ire-recognize, kaya nga majority floor leader yun e. Doon sa mga hindi sumusunod sa rules saka parliamentary procedures ng Senado ngayon, mahiya naman kayo,” he said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros stressed that there is no return nor remand in the Constitution. She believes that the move to return the articles of impeachment might have been planned by the Duterte bloc in the Senate.
Talagang dumadami na ang mga walang alam sa senado ngayon… Kahiya-hiya na parang normal lang sa kanila ang mga ginawang kalokohan ni sara duterte. Ganun din ba sila???