MANILA — The three impeachment charges dropped against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio may still be reconsidered after Senate President Francis Escudero clarified that senator-judges have the authority to challenge the impeachment court’s decision allowing prosecutors to withdraw the allegations.
Escudero’s clarification on Tuesday effectively left the door open for the Senate impeachment court to revisit its ruling, raising the possibility that the proceedings against Duterte-Carpio may not be limited permanently to the lone remaining charge of unexplained wealth.
The issue surfaced after Senator-Judge Bam Aquino questioned whether the withdrawal of three of the four impeachment articles was a unilateral decision of the House prosecution panel or a ruling formally adopted by the impeachment court.
“Hiniling ng prosekusyon, pinagpasiyahan ng korte (The prosecution manifested this, and the court acted on it),” Escudero said.
He emphasized that the court’s acceptance of the withdrawal was not necessarily final and could be challenged through the appropriate parliamentary procedure.
“It is a ruling of the Chair that, like any other ruling, is subject to either appeal or reconsideration at the proper time once they have had enough time to, as you said, either consult their clients or reflect on the matter,” Escudero said.
“Of course, fully understanding that the appeal or reconsideration would have to be made by a senator-judge on the matter,” he added.
Aquino subsequently sought clarification on whether a senator-judge could initiate reconsideration after Duterte-Carpio’s defense team had consulted the vice president.
“A senator-judge can [move for reconsideration],” Escudero replied.
The clarification introduced another potential development in the impeachment proceedings following the prosecution panel’s decision to abandon three articles involving serious allegations against Duterte-Carpio.
The withdrawn charges concern the alleged misuse of confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, alleged bribery of education officials, and alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family.
With the withdrawal accepted by the court, the prosecution is proceeding with Article II, which accuses Duterte-Carpio of accumulating unexplained wealth, failing to disclose certain assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and maintaining business interests despite constitutional restrictions.
However, Escudero’s clarification means the withdrawal of the other articles remains subject to possible reconsideration should a senator-judge formally challenge the ruling.
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio’s defense team insisted that the prosecution must bear the consequences of abandoning the charges and should not be allowed to use its decision to restrict the vice president’s defense.
Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison maintained that the withdrawal should not prejudice Duterte-Carpio’s right to present evidence or determine how she would answer the allegations.
“This decision to withdraw those articles is the prosecution’s lookout. And so, whatever consequences of those withdrawals, they should be able to bear alone without the respondent suffering any consequences from that decision,” Sison said.
Although Escudero understood that the defense was not opposing the withdrawal, Sison stressed that the decision should not dictate the defense’s strategy in the continuing impeachment trial.
“However, we really need to record the fact that our objection on whatever idea that may be floating at this moment, that this decision of the prosecution will somehow make decisions for how the respondent or the defense will present our evidence in chief,” she added.
Sison said the defense would consult Duterte-Carpio on the implications of the prosecution’s decision while maintaining that the vice president must retain the opportunity to answer the accusations and present evidence in her defense.
The developments leave two significant questions before the impeachment court: whether any senator-judge will seek to revive the withdrawn charges and how their withdrawal will affect Duterte-Carpio’s ability to present evidence during the trial.
For now, the unexplained wealth allegation remains the sole impeachment article being pursued, although the possibility of reconsidering the other charges has not been foreclosed./PN
