Agad-agad

Our sacred Constitution – framed by some of the most brilliant legal minds – must be trembling not from smudged ink but from deliberate misinterpretations by our current crop of senators, who are now scrambling to dismiss an impeachment complaint in the once-esteemed chamber, once occupied by true statesmen.
Just outside the Senate building, the city is choking on uncertainty and skyrocketing food prices, which remain so high that dozens of gig workers endure a snaking queue for a cheap meal offered by the famous pares seller nearby.
In edge-of-your-seat movies or high stakes political dramas on Netflix, the price of a vote – or a non-vote – could be power and more power. Or thick bundles of cash, fresh and unmarked. There’s also the promise to head a powerful or lucrative committee.
I wonder, does truth imitate fiction too, or is it even worse in this nation of 120 million?
What is clear for now is that the Senate seems inclined to dismiss altogether the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
And you know there’s a looming constitutional crisis when long-retired legal luminaries speak up to enlighten our senators on why this must not be the case.
Justice Adolf Azcuna (ret.), who wrote the procedural section in the Constitution including the word forthwith, had this to say on the term, in effect clarifying the wrong interpretation of Senate President Chiz Escudero:
“I also wrote the procedural section including the word ‘forthwith,’ referring to the need for the Senate to proceed to trial after the House itself adopts, by 1/3 or more votes, a Resolution of Impeachment, which thereby constitutes the Articles of Impeachment such that ‘trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed,’ and it is precisely meant to mean immediately and without unreasonable delay, or in the national language official version: ‘agad-agad’.”
Aside from this, Azcuna said he “drafted Article XI of the Constitution in the Constitutional Commission, including the thematic Section 1 that states: Public office is a public trust, and that public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people. At ALL times.”
Justice Azcuna, a Bar topnotcher, also said that as long as Senate President Escudero starts the process before the 19th Congress lapses on June 30 – when the term of office of representatives and outgoing senators ends – he will have done well.
“All he needs is to get the Articles read to the Senate and served on the Respondent. That will trigger the Senate’s jurisdiction over the case. The Senate in the 20th Congress can continue the process of proceeding with the trial,” Justice Azcuna said.
‘Grave violation’
But what the Senate seems inclined to do now is to dismiss the Articles of Impeachment – a move Justice Azcuna said would be a grave violation of the Constitution.
If this happens, he said, it can be reversed by the Supreme Court or by the Senate of the 20th Congress on a proper motion for reconsideration.
As I write this, Senator Chiz said no resolution to dismiss the complaint has yet been filed.
Interestingly, Justice Azcuna said it is crucial that someone against the dismissal vote with the majority that votes to dismiss – because only someone who voted with the majority can ask for reconsideration.
Sacred duty
These are his humble submissions, the good justice said.
He prays that our senators heed the clear mandate of the Constitution and the will of the people to proceed now to perform their sacred duty: to try the Articles of Impeachment.
What happens next is anybody’s guess.
But here’s what we know for sure. VP Sara has yet to explain how her office and the Department of Education used the controversial funds.
The complaint noted, among other issues, that VP Sara gained direct control of at least P612.5 million in confidential funds. A House inquiry showed that the confidential expenses “are nothing more than ghost expenses” (PhilstarLife, Feb. 6, 2025).
In the same report, the Philippine Army was quoted as saying that it didn’t receive payment for DepEd’s “youth leadership summits,” despite DepEd claiming that funds were allocated for these.
A trial would shed light on the issues raised against her. VP Sara could also use it to prove to the Filipino people that she is innocent of the charges against her, as she claims.
The impeachment trial may not necessarily lead to a conviction but through the process, the people will at least know what happened.
On the other hand, dismissing the complaint will translate to a constitutional crisis as many of the legal luminaries in the country have warned, including law deans and professors.
The Senate, as mandated by the Constitution, must therefore proceed to handle the impeachment complaint.
Otherwise, the once-august chamber which, in decades past gleamed with honor, dignity and intellect, will now be draped in small republics and blind allegiances.
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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.
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