Impeachment unaffected by grave threats raps – Drilon

MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate president Frank Drilon said the grave threats case against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has no bearing on her ongoing impeachment trial, saying the two proceedings are different in nature.

Speaking to radio dwIZ, Drilon said the RTC case and impeachment trial tackle the same issue involving Duterte’s livestreamed statement that she had hired an assassin to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez. However, he said the RTC case is criminal while the impeachment proceeding is political.

“As we have said, this impeachment trial is sui generis, a class of its own. It is not a court of law,” Drilon explained. “It is not a criminal case. It is a political process, a process provided for by the Constitution to hold accountable those who should be held accountable… The penalty here, if found guilty, is not imprisonment but removal from public office and perpetual disqualification from public office.”

Drilon also rejected claims that the grave threats case constitutes double jeopardy because the same allegations are being heard in the impeachment trial.

The alleged threats form part of Article IV of Duterte’s impeachment complaint. The prosecution has completed its presentation of evidence on the grave threats article.

Drilon said the criminal case under the Revised Penal Code requires a judge to find guilt beyond reasonable doubt, while an impeachment conviction requires a two-thirds vote of all senators based on their conscience.

“Not all senators are lawyers. Therefore, they cannot act as judges in determining whether there is proof beyond reasonable doubt. What matters is what is in their conscience, and that is what will prevail,” he said.

Drilon believes the impeachment court will render its verdict ahead of the RTC, with presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero saying the trial should be completed before yearend.

He added that there is no basis to believe that the impeachment court’s verdict would influence the RTC judge’s decision on Duterte’s grave threats case.

“The treatment or elements are different in the RTC and the impeachment court. So whether or not it will influence the judge is up to the court. It should not, but it is difficult to say because influence is a state of mind,” Drilon said. “That is a conclusion that has no basis.”

Drilon also disagreed with Duterte’s position that her assassination remarks were protected by freedom of expression.

“We have a law that prohibits threatening another person by telling them, ‘I will kill you.’ That is punishable under our Revised Penal Code,” he said. “Freedom of speech under our Constitution has limitations. You cannot invoke freedom of speech to threaten the entire country.”

Duterte posted bail at the Quezon City RTC in connection with the grave threats case filed by public prosecutors.

During the event, the Vice President invoked the memory of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. when she initially refused to enter the Quezon City Hall of Justice to post bail.

The court allowed media representatives to accompany her inside but required them to climb the stairs and stay at a distance from her.

Speaking in front of her lawyers Paul Lawrence Lim and Michael Poa, Duterte objected to the arrangement as she claimed threats against her life.

“Who will be at my back? Do you remember that Ninoy Aquino died on the stairs?” she said.

Aquino was killed on Aug. 23, 1983, at the tarmac of what was then the Manila International Airport after arriving from the United States aboard a China Airlines plane.

Duterte eventually entered the building, climbed the stairs and posted bail.

Face the case

House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon, meanwhile, challenged Duterte to stop the “drama” and face the legal process over the grave threats case.

Ridon said Duterte should not blame others for the case, stressing that the charges stemmed from statements she herself made.

“Enough with the drama. There would be no grave threats case if not for the statements that became the basis for the case filed against you,” he said.

The August Twenty-One Movement, meanwhile, described the arrest warrant against Duterte as a “step in the right direction,” although it said the development came as a surprise because the Philippines is known for a justice system that favors the powerful.