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Chua: We’re not rushing Senate, but Constitution says ‘forthwith’

Chua: We’re not rushing Senate, but Constitution says ‘forthwith’

Provided by INQUIRER.net.

PHOTO: Rep. Joel Chua
Rep. Joel Chua —File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta



MANILA, Philippines — While they are not rushing the Senate to start the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said that the 1987 Constitution used the words “shall” and “forthwith” to describe the proceedings.

In a press briefing on Monday at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Chua said that they respect the opinion of Senate President Francis Escudero regarding the impeachment trial, but they were only considering the Constitution as a basis.



Paragraph 4 of the 1987 Constitution’s Article XI, Section 3 states that in case an impeachment complaint is filed by at least one-third of all House of Representatives members, “the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

“First of all, of course, we respect the opinion of our Honorable Senate President, but for us, it’s not that we are rushing them. We are just basing it on what is stated in our Constitution,” Chua, one of the prosecutors tapped by the House leadership, said in Filipino.

“We all know that it’s stated there that the Constitution used the words ‘shall’ and ‘forthwith’. ‘Shall’ means mandatory and ‘forthwith’ means immediately,” he added.

The same idea was raised by another member of the prosecution panel, Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, who said last February 6 that they wish the impeachment trial would start immediately, due to the presence of the word “forthwith.” However, Defensor said they would respect how the Senate would interpret the term.

Defensor also likened it to a court procedure wherein lawyers do not question decisions from the judge about the reset

READ: Lawmakers hope VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial will start soon

Earlier, Escudero said that the impeachment trial would start after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address by July 2025 — or after the 20th Congress opens its session.

READ: VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial starts after Sona – Escudero

Escudero also maintained that he would not ask Marcos to authorize a special session of Congress to tackle the impeachment raps, as a special session could not be used for this purpose.

Last February 6, Escudero also said that the Senate should not be rushed to start the impeachment proceedings immediately, noting that three complaints were stuck in the House for two months before the chamber acted on it last February 5 — or during the last session day before Congress went into a break for the election season.

There have been several concerns about how the impeachment proceedings would go if the trial starts during the 19th Congress, while some members of the Senate — who will sit as senator-judges — would no longer be in office for the 20th Congress as they are not eligible for reelection.

At the House, there are also questions as to whether assigning prosecutors this early would be correct since their seats in the 20th Congress are not assured, due to their posts being up for grabs in the midterm elections.

Even former Sen. Leila de Lima — a supporter of moves to impeach Duterte and spokesperson for the first set of complainants — admitted last January 17 that this issue remained an open question.

“That is a question that would most certainly reach the Supreme Court. There will be even more delays if there are those legal, constitutional issues),” de Lima said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino.

However, other legal luminaries like former senator Franklin Drilon and retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio believe Duterte’s impeachment is enough basis to call for a special session.

Chua is of the belief that the trial can be held in the 19th Congress and continue towards the 20th Congress if time is lacking, as the Senate is a continuing body.

“For me, there are two schools of thought there, but I believe that the Senate is a continuing body. That’s why even if this is started by the 19th Congress, this can continue towards the 20th Congress,” Chua explained.

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