
Archbishop Villegas slams delay of VP Sara's impeachment trial: ‘It is a sin'
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas called out the delay in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, noting that such a move is a "suppression of truth. It is a sin."
'To delay the trial or even to abort it is to suppress the truth. It is a sin. The opponent, the devil, is rightly called Prince of Lies,' he said in a statement posted on Monday.
'To abort the trial even before its delayed commencement is deplorable. It is a sin against justice,' Villegas added.
'The trial by the Senate is a positive command of the Philippine Constitution. It is a demand of justice. It must be commenced and it must continue to a just verdict. It is wrong to delay or abort it, according to no less than the framers of the Constitution itself. I add- it is sinfully wrong. It offends truth and justice.'
The presentation of the articles of impeachment has been moved from June 2 to June 11.
In a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Escudero said the Senate and the House of Representatives needed to prioritize the passage of the items in the administration's legislative agenda before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die on June 14.
On Monday, Escudero maintained that the Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty but not based on the timeline of others.
'Sino mang pabor sa impeachment o kontra sa impeachment, sinumang pabor kay VP Sara o kontra sa kanya, hindi ko papakinggan. Gagawin ko kung ano ang tama, nararapat, at ayon sa Konstitusyon at batas ayon sa aming tingin. Kung ano ang tama,' he said.
(I will not listen to anyone who is in favor or against the impeachment, anyone who is in favor or against VP Sara. I will do what is right, appropriate, and according to the Constitution and the law as we see it. I will do what is right.)
Further, Villegas said that such delay is a form of laziness.
'When motivated by selfish ambition and the prioritization of personal desires, gratification and comfort, the delay of the process of pursuing the TRUTH is a sin. It smacks of negligence and laziness. Not to pursue the truth when you have the capacity to know it FORTHWITH is a grave sin of omission. It is morally unacceptable," he said.
'Procrastination is a form of laziness which leads to the neglect of responsibilities, tasks, or opportunities, which can be interpreted as a lack of diligence or commitment,' Villegas added.
On Monday evening, Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial. After the senators take their oaths at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the court would be constituted but not yet convened. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


GMA Network
an hour ago
- GMA Network
Chiz cites Senate precedents on impeachment trial while on recess, dismissed complaints
Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Monday night cited precedents in the Senate amid criticisms that the Senate was abandoning its constitutional mandate to forthwith convene as an impeachment court and try the impeached Vice President Sata Duterte. Amid deliberations of the Senate minority's motion for the Senate to convene itself into an impeachment court, Escudero took the floor to address the criticisms again that he delayed the impeachment proceedings despite the constitutional provision that it should be done "forthwith." The Senate President, in citing precedents, also showed that the Senate in the past dismissed impeachment complaints without rendering an acquittal or a conviction. There was even an instance when the impeachment complaint was dismissed without the Senate being convened as an impeachment court. "We are governed not only by the Constitution but also by our rules. We are also governed by precedents. We are also governed by decisions of the Supreme Court pertaining to the matter," Escudero said. Escudero referred to the impeachment proceedings in the Senate of then-President Joseph Estrada in 2000, former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011, and former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez also in 2011. He said that while the impeachment trial of Estrada started in 2000, the impeachment court took a break when Congress took its year-end recess. "May nagreklamo ba at nagsabing, 'Uy forthwith, a'?" Escudero said. (Did anyone complain and say, 'Isn't the impeachment trial supposed to proceed forthwith?) He said that when the impeachment court voted not to open the second envelope in the trial of Estrada, the prosecutors walked out and never returned to the proceedings. 'Wala nang prosecutor, wala nang interesado, dinismiss forthwith ang impeachment complaint dahil wala nang prosecutor,' Escudero said. (There were no prosecutors. No one's interested. The impeachment complaint was dismissed because there were no prosecutors.) Escudero said that the impeachment complaint against Corona was filed a few days before the congressional break. "Bagaman tama si Senator Pimentel at sang-ayon ako, pwede tayong mag-trial habang recess. Ginawa na po 'yan sa kaso ni Chief Justice Corona. Again, we are governed not only by the Constitution, our rules, but also by precedents." Escudero said. "Subalit, may malaking pagkakaiba. Dapat nasimulan, na-refer, at nagkaroon ng plenary action sa articles of impeachment para ma-constitute ang impeachment court bago ito magpatuloy habang recess," he added. (While Senator Pimentel is correct and I agree that we can have a trial while on recess. That has been done in the case of Chief Justice Corona. Again, we are governed not only by rules but also by precedents. But there is a huge difference. The articles must have been referred and subjected to plenary action so that the impeachment court would be constituted before the trial can proceed during recess.) Escudero said it was unconstitutional to proceed with the trial during recess without the articles of impeachment getting taken up by the Senate in plenary. He again took a swipe at the House of Representatives, which transmitted the impeachment complaint to the Senate two hours before the chamber adjourned on the last session day in February. As regards Gutierrez's impeachment case, Escudero said the Senate dismissed the complaint against the then-Ombudsman after she resigned before her trial before the impeachment court. "If you will look at the past precedents of the Senate, nagawa po nila 'yun without convening the impeachment court. Wala pong nagsabi, 'Hoy, inaabandona n'yo ang inyong constitutional duty n'ung ginawa ng Senado 'yon'," Escudero said. "'Pag sang-ayon ba ang pinaka-maingay o pinaka-matatalino sa ating bansa, okay lang? 'Pag hindi sila sang-ayon, hindi na okay. Bugbog ka na. Bugbog na ang institusyon. Dapat may gawin na tayo. The Constitution, the rules, and the precedents do not change simply because a group says otherwise," he added. Escudero on Monday night took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate also adopted Sen. Joel Villanueva's motion that the rest of the senators take their oaths as senator-judges in the impeachment trial at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. After the senators take their oaths, the court would be constituted but not yet convened, Villanueva said in his motion, which was approved. –NB, GMA Integrated News


GMA Network
3 hours ago
- GMA Network
Colombian senator Uribe shows little response to treatment after shooting
Colombian presidential hopeful Senator Miguel Uribe looks on after the Senate voted against the government labor reform referendum promoted by Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in Bogota on May 14, 2025. Raul Arboleda/ AFP BOGOTA — Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, remains in critical condition and has shown little response to treatment after being shot in Bogota, the hospital treating him said on Monday. Uribe, 39, is a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party and was shot in the head as he was addressing a campaign event on Saturday in a public park in the capital. The shooting, which was caught on video, has shaken Colombia, evoking the political violence of previous decades. "His condition is extremely serious," the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said in a statement. "Therefore the prognosis remains cautious." Colombia has long been embroiled in conflict with leftist rebels and criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, though the motive for the attack on Uribe remains unclear. Leftist President Gustavo Petro has vowed to bring peace, negotiating with rebel groups to get them to put down their arms, but with little success. Uribe comes from a prominent political family. His grandfather Julio Cesar Turbay was president from 1978 to 1982 and his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a rescue operation after being kidnapped by an armed group led by drug lord Pablo Escobar. He is not related to former president Alvaro Uribe. Petro said on Sunday he had ordered additional security for government officials and opposition members in response to more threats, though the details of the threats were murky. Ex-President Uribe, who founded the Democratic Center party, also said he had been informed of plans to attack him. It is not known why Senator Uribe, who was vying for the candidacy of his party, was attacked. He was polling well behind other party candidates at the time of the shooting. A young teen found to be carrying a 9-mm pistol was arrested after the shooting. The gun was purchased in Arizona, the head of police said, and authorities are investigating how it reached Colombia. Authorities had yet to interrogate the boy as he was receiving medical care, Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said on Monday. However, she said that if the teen were a gun-for-hire, he would likely have little information about the motive. "There are several hypotheses," Camargo said. "It could have been an attack on the opposition, or it could have been an attempt to destabilize the country, or the government, or it was armed illegal groups responding to the progress made in the peace process." The suspect faces charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of a weapon, she added. But as he is a minor, he faces up to eight years in a rehabilitation center instead of prison. — Reuters


GMA Network
5 hours ago
- GMA Network
Archbishop Villegas slams delay of VP Sara's impeachment trial: ‘It is a sin'
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas called out the delay in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, noting that such a move is a "suppression of truth. It is a sin." 'To delay the trial or even to abort it is to suppress the truth. It is a sin. The opponent, the devil, is rightly called Prince of Lies,' he said in a statement posted on Monday. 'To abort the trial even before its delayed commencement is deplorable. It is a sin against justice,' Villegas added. 'The trial by the Senate is a positive command of the Philippine Constitution. It is a demand of justice. It must be commenced and it must continue to a just verdict. It is wrong to delay or abort it, according to no less than the framers of the Constitution itself. I add- it is sinfully wrong. It offends truth and justice.' The presentation of the articles of impeachment has been moved from June 2 to June 11. In a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Escudero said the Senate and the House of Representatives needed to prioritize the passage of the items in the administration's legislative agenda before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die on June 14. On Monday, Escudero maintained that the Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty but not based on the timeline of others. 'Sino mang pabor sa impeachment o kontra sa impeachment, sinumang pabor kay VP Sara o kontra sa kanya, hindi ko papakinggan. Gagawin ko kung ano ang tama, nararapat, at ayon sa Konstitusyon at batas ayon sa aming tingin. Kung ano ang tama,' he said. (I will not listen to anyone who is in favor or against the impeachment, anyone who is in favor or against VP Sara. I will do what is right, appropriate, and according to the Constitution and the law as we see it. I will do what is right.) Further, Villegas said that such delay is a form of laziness. 'When motivated by selfish ambition and the prioritization of personal desires, gratification and comfort, the delay of the process of pursuing the TRUTH is a sin. It smacks of negligence and laziness. Not to pursue the truth when you have the capacity to know it FORTHWITH is a grave sin of omission. It is morally unacceptable," he said. 'Procrastination is a form of laziness which leads to the neglect of responsibilities, tasks, or opportunities, which can be interpreted as a lack of diligence or commitment,' Villegas added. On Monday evening, Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial. After the senators take their oaths at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the court would be constituted but not yet convened. — BAP, GMA Integrated News