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Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday raised concerns regarding timeline following the decision of the prosecution to drop three out of the four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying that the proceedings should not be hastened for the sake of fairness.
On Day 39 of the trial, Cayetano stressed that there is no limit in the Constitution when it comes to the conduct of the impeachment trial.
“We can finish this in January, we can finish this in February. We can take a break tomorrow and focus on the budget. It is our choice. Kung ako masusunod, unahin natin ang budget--may super El Niño, hindi pa tapos ang flood control investigation,” he said.
(If it were up to me, we should prioritize the budget first—there is a super El Niño, and the flood control investigation isn't finished yet.)
“It’s in the best interest of everyone that there’s fairness and we take our time. There’s no time limit. Who is saying that we have to finish this by November?"
Cayetano said he himself wants the trial to be finished, but not at the expense of deliberating on and passing the proposed 2027 national budget.
"I want it finished. But between finishing it tapos may unfairness, and finishing it na unahin ‘to kesa sa budget---Mr. Presiding Officer, Mr. Senate President, you know I’d like to put on record, I’m very uncomfortable with that. I think it will be a disservice to the Filipino people,” he added.
The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday accepted the move by the House prosecution panel to withdraw three out of the four Articles of Impeachment leveled against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The charges dropped were Articles I, III and IV, which detail allegations of misuse of confidential funds, bribery, and grave threats, respectively.
The minority leader said that the impeachment proceedings must be finished “with the basic element of fairness [and] justice.”
“Kahit anong mangyari dito---acquit or convict---may matutuwa, may magagalit. But history will judge us whether or not ‘yung elementary fairness and due process,” Cayetano said.
(Whatever happens here---acquit or convict---some will be happy, some will be angry. But history will judge us as to whether or not we applied the elementary fairness and due process.) — RSJ, GMA News