Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian Believes VP Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial Must Proceed in 20th Congress
SHERWIN GATCHALIAN – The Senator admitted her belief that the impeachment trial should begin for the essence of transparency.
Recently, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero claimed that the impeachment court can junk the case of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte even without a trial. The Senate President who is acting as the presiding officer of the impeachment court in the 19th Congress previously claimed that there are no limits to what the court can decide on.
According to Escudero, Duterte’s impeachment case can also be dismissed via a simple majority vote. The Senate impeachment court returned the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives but he clarified that it does not mean that the case is dismissed nor terminated.
Eighteen (18) senator judges voted in support of the motion to remand Duterte’s impeachment to the House over the issue of constitutionality. The Senate impeachment court also required a reconfirmation from the 20th Congress.
Only five (5) senator judges opposed the motion to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House. Here is the result of the voting on the motion to return Duterte’s impeachment:
YES
- 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
NO
- Koko Pimentel
- Risa Hontiveros
- Sherwin Gatchalian
- Grace Poe
- Nancy Binay
Recently, amid the doubts on whether or not the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte will push through, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian admitted his belief that the trial “needs to begin”. Based on a report on PhilStar, he cited transparency.
“In my opinion, the trial needs to begin, so that the arguments from both parties will be heard by and presented to the public, so there is transparency,” the Senator said.
According to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, he is sure that the defense lawyers will invoke the constitutionality of the Articles of Impeachment. Based on the report, he also believes that it is possible that there will be voting among the senator judges on a motion to dismiss the case.
Previously, in her response to the summons sent by the Senate impeachment court, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte called the impeachment document a “scrap of paper”. She also expressed her belief that the impeachment case should be dismissed.