Sen. Chiz Escudero Speaks on Impeachment Court’s Lead amid Possible VP Sara Duterte Trial
CHIZ ESCUDERO – The Senator broke his silence on the claims that he is being eyed as the presiding officer of the impeachment court.
Sen. Escudero has recently aligned himself with the new majority bloc by joining the June 3 Senate session amid the ongoing disputes in the Senate. He was the only member of the former majority bloc who attended the said session which created a quorum of 12 that allowed proceedings to continue.
At that time, the then-majority bloc had already been absent for three days. Then-Senate Pres. Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that he and his allies skipped sessions for three days to allegedly secure committee chairmanships and ensure the flood control hearing would proceed.
Sen. Chiz Escudero, a former Senate president, explained that his decision to attend was in defense of the Senate. He stressed that the chamber’s situation should not persist.
During the June 3 session, 12 senators voted to declare all positions in the Senate vacant and elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and his bloc opposed the leadership change.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano insisted he remained the “legitimate, legal, and moral Senate president of the Republic of the Philippines”. According to him, 13 votes were needed to remove him and elect a new leader.
Before the Tuesday session where Sen. Joel Villanueva joined the new majority bloc, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano conceded as Senate president. Thirteen senators present then voted for Gatchalian as Senate chief.
Sen. Ping Lacson previously disclosed that Sen. Chiz Escudero is being considered to preside over the impeachment court in the possible trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Lacson explained that Escudero’s background as a lawyer and his prior experience with impeachment made him a suitable choice.
“‘Yun ang consensus namin as of this morning. Pwede pang magbago. Si Senate President Win mismo ang nag-suggest nito,” he said.
Sen. Ping Lacson clarified that the potential role of Sen. Chiz Escudero as presiding officer was not part of any negotiation when he joined the new majority bloc. The impeachment court is scheduled to reconvene on July 6 for the case against Vice President Duterte. Recently, Escudero broke his silence on some of the majority senators’ claim.
“Wala pang ganoong pasya. Pagpapasyahan ‘yan ng impeachment court ‘pag nagsimula kami sa July 6,”
“Siguro nanggagaling ‘yan dito — lima lamang ang abogado kasi sa Senado eh… Siguro ‘yun ang tinitingnan nila na isa doon sa lima ang angkop… na mag-preside,” the former Senate President said based on the post.