Carpio: Sara impeachment followed Constitution

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Supreme Court (SC) senior associate justice Antonio Carpio has defended the House of Representatives’ impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the institution “strictly followed” the Constitution in impeaching the Vice President.

Carpio argued that the overriding issue was whether the House complied with the 10-session day rule for acting on impeachment complaints.

“The House has manifested, both to the Senate and to the Supreme Court, that the House did not violate this provision of the Constitution,” the retired justice said in a statement, citing the official legal position submitted to the Court.

He noted that the first impeachment complaint was filed on Dec. 2 last year. Accounting for the House’s recess from Dec. 21 to Jan. 12 this year, the complaints can be considered included in the order of business on the 10th session day in compliance with the Constitution.

Carpio also explained that on that same day, a verified resolution for Duterte’s impeachment, which was signed by more than one-third of all House members, was formally submitted to the Secretary General, which was also consistent with the rules governing impeachment.

Citing the Constitution, he said such a resolution “shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

This resolution, he said, became the approved Articles of Impeachment. “The Constitution was followed. The threshold was met. The process was legal and complete. That should be the end of it,” the former SC associate justice said.

The SC recently ordered the Senate and the House to provide a comprehensive explanation of the procedural steps taken in the impeachment complaints against Duterte in a bid to determine if constitutional requirements were fully met.

The SC has also ordered the consolidation of all petitions questioning the legality of the impeachment complaints against Duterte, allowing for a unified judicial review of the matter.