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GMA Network
2 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Philconsa: Return order for Sara impeach case raises constitutional concerns
The Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) has called out the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, for returning the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the House of Representatives. In a statement, Philconsa chairperson and former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno said the impeachment court's move raises constitutional concerns. 'This action raises grave constitutional questions and challenges the integrity of the impeachment process. PhilConsa warns that it may constitute grave abuse of discretion and risks undermining the most fundamental principle of our constitutional democracy: that Public Office is a Public Trust,' he said. 'The Accountability of Public Officials cannot be overstressed — and must never be evaded through procedural artifice,' he added. Puno said the constitutional concerns from court's order are the following: Grave Abuse of Discretion — Whether the Senate unlawfully suspended its jurisdiction already validly acquired as an Impeachment Court. Encroachment on the House's Exclusive Power — Whether requiring the House to certify compliance with the one-year ban infringes upon the House's sole prerogative under Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution. Circumlocutory Delay — Whether imposing novel requirements not found in the Constitution or Senate Rules constitutes a circumlocutory device designed to delay or defeat the trial. Due Process and Impartiality — Whether raising possible defenses on behalf of the Respondent compromises the impartiality of the Senate as an Impeachment Court. Fundamental Question of Law — Is the mere lack of certification from the House of Representatives sufficient to justify remand of the case and suspension of trial? PhilConsa submits that no such requirement exists under the Constitution or established impeachment practice. To create such a requirement ex post facto undermines both the separation of powers and the rule of law. Puno pointed out that the Senate cannot lose or suspend its jurisdiction as an impeachment court by mere procedural acts. 'As the Supreme Court held: 'Jurisdiction, once validly acquired, is not lost by subsequent happenings. It continues until the case is finally resolved or dismissed (Republic v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 115748, Feb. 3, 1997),' Puno said. 'This principle of continuing jurisdiction applies with full force to the Impeachment Court — a doctrine reinforced by established practice, including the Clinton Impeachment trial before the US Senate, whose model our own impeachment process follows,' he added. Puno said that impeachment, as the people's mechanism to enforce accountability of public officials, must not be thwarted by 'procedural invention' or 'partisan maneuver.' 'PhilConsa calls upon the Senate to uphold its constitutional duty and proceed with the impeachment trial in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law. Any act or device that circumvents this duty gravely imperils our democratic institutions,' Puno said. 'The Filipino people are watching. The Constitution commands it,' he added. On Tuesday evening, the Senate as an impeachment court voted to return to the House of Representatives the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte without dismissing or terminating them. The motion was approved with 18 affirmative, five negative votes, and zero abstentions. Duterte was impeached by the House on February 5 with more than 200 congressmen endorsing the verified complaint against her. The Vice President stands accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. Duterte has denied the allegations. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Phil English defends Kelly, plus readers' views on Trump, Ukraine, deportation
With the growing political divisions in America, it is natural that public controversies and partisan tactics have found their way to our area. People have a right to be heard and to protest, less to modify the facts. Here's my take: Congressman Mike Kelly is being criticized by opponents who claim that he is having town meetings with constituents virtually rather than in person. This ignores that Mr. Kelly has been tied up in Washington most of the last three months working on economic issues (his job), has many meetings scheduled with local organizations, and has been freely meeting with constituents from all walks of life in his local office. I believe tele-townhalls are a reasonable option for congressional representatives to communicate with their constituents under many circumstances, but people can join one and decide. In 14 years in Congress, I hosted more public town meetings than any local representative before or since, and I was the last to do so systematically. I had them during the Iraq War, the Clinton Impeachment, two recessions, and Medicare and Social Security debates. I generally found them helpful and respectful. On occasions when organized groups sought to disrupt them, the big losers were always the citizens who came to learn not yell. My successor largely curtailed regular open public town meetings, in favor of meetings in her office. A legitimate question for Kelly critics: Have you actually tried to meet with him? Do you want input or a spectacle? More: Rep. Mike Kelly hasn't held an in-person town hall in Erie in years. Citizens seek answers I was sorry that Mike Kelly (on advice of law enforcement) felt obliged to cancel his annual appearance in our St. Patrick's Day parade to avoid disrupting this community gem. I am also sorry that so many meetings nationally have been disrupted for representatives of both parties. Certainly people have a right to express their views, preferably in a way that preserves the rights of their neighbors. I believe Mr. Kelly deserves credit for being accessible throughout his large district for over a decade, more than most incumbents. Phil English, Erie I believe we are witnessing despotic, intentional cruelty, and the wanton disregard of democratic norms and laws regarding immigrants in this country — which was built on immigration. Vowing to deport criminals, Trump and his ilk are using tactics designed to hide details of arrests and detentions. They do not want us to know how many they have deported, or the actual legal status or criminal charges, or even how many others are indiscriminately and innocently swept up. They are targeting schools, health care facilities and churches, which previously were sacrosanct from raids. Yes, immigration is a complex issue, so Congress and our own U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th Dist., need to step up with fair and common-sense legislation and adequate funding. Our shared Catholic faith commands us to recognize the inherent dignity of every human being. But we are not hearing that from our bishops and parish priests either. Where is their unequivocal vocal support for the USCCB Statement on Immigration and the "Know Your Rights" resources from CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network), or for our local orders of women religious who recently protested outside the Erie federal courthouse, or for our locally successful refugee resettlement programs (USCRI, Multicultural Resource Center, and Catholic Charities), which are on the frontlines of fostering and protecting these vulnerable immigrants? Erie is supposed to be a "Welcoming City." It is high time that Catholics and people of faith speak up and demonstrate what it truly means to be "pro-life." Mary Nelson, OFS, Erie It has come to my attention that National Institutes of Health have canceled graduate research grants. The justification given is that the host institutions (for example, Columbia University) have failed to prevent antisemitism on campus. As an American Jewish person, I object to the administration cancelling vital medical research and a host of other programs based on accusations of ineffective prevention of discrimination or harassment of one specific religious or ethnic group. In my opinion and from my experience, rather than reducing antisemitism this will increase it — not by student protesters but by other people in society. Do not take repressive and regressive actions such as this in my name as a Jewish person. Stop defunding colleges, research, the arts, schools, and more based on false concepts of antisemitism. Stop demonizing diversity, equity and inclusion. Stop removing the history of our national diversity from public-facing government programs and facilities. In America most of us descended from or are immigrants. Diversity is our strength. Freda Tepfer, Erie I had the good fortune to grow up in Mercer, then Erie, and finally Crawford County in the 1950s and 1960s — a period when those three counties made up the 24th Congressional District. The northwest Pennsylvania of my early years had no shortage of moral leaders — individuals like the intellectually inquisitive Rev. Charles Schweikert at Messiah Lutheran Church in Wesleyville; C.J. "Gus" Dusckas, the Buffalo Road funeral director who helped many Erie and Wesleyville residents cope with financial and other troubles; and Julian Ross, a professor at Allegheny College who captivated students with his combination of wisdom and modesty. Those were, in many ways, good times. Today the nation is in bad times. President Trump and Vice President Vance reject the very idea that the U.S. should continue to be leader of the free world. It seems they would rather make friendly with dictators then with embattled democrats. Northwest Pennsylvania's congressional district, now stretched south to Butler County, is represented by Mike Kelly, who accepted Donald Trump's "Big Lie" — the idea that Trump won the 2020 election. (In fact, Joseph Biden beat Trump by 7 million votes — in percentage terms, 51.3 to 46.8.) It was infuriating recently to watch Trump and Vice President Vance — in the White House, of all places — try to browbeat Ukraine's heroic president Volodymyr Zelensky and make him swallow a demeaning and dangerous deal with Russia's thug of a president, Vladimir Putin. The world knows, from years of calamitous experience, that Putin is a dictator who kills his critics (sometimes by poison, sometimes by prison), squelches calls for freedom, and makes promises he will not uphold. Through three years of defending their country against Russia's invasion, Zelensky and the Ukrainians have refused to give up, despite the deaths of thousands of soldiers and civilians and despite terrible damage inflicted on Ukraine's cities and towns. Ukrainians know they are fighting for independence and self-determination — in a democratic system that puts Russia and other authoritarian states to shame. Yale University history professor Timothy Snyder, author of "On Tyranny," recently warned that Trump and Vance — in pushing for appeasement of Russia and acceptance of its land grab — are risking the kind of disaster that Britain's Neville Chamberlain and other shortsighted leaders brought upon Europe in 1938 when they failed to say no to Hitler's land grab in Czechoslovakia. Snyder maintains that if the West allows Russia to consolidate its gains in Ukraine, it will probably be only a matter of time before Putin launches further attacks in Europe. The result? Possibly World War III. In my view, the Trump-Vance administration has displayed a stunning lack of morality and farsightedness. What Congress and the American people need to do now is force Trump to retreat from his reprehensible collaboration with Putin. More: Ukrainians are defending freedom, fighting oppression - just as America once did | Opinion Congress and the people who must demand that United States NOT stab Ukraine in the back. Trump being what he is, I think he ultimately has to be pushed into resigning. I believe he is morally bankrupt — a threat to the well-being of Americans and of the world. The task, for the people of northwestern Pennsylvania, is make Mike Kelly admit that he's been wrong, and that the longer Trump remains in the White House, the worse our country's situation will be. The future of democracy at home and abroad is in jeopardy. Philip Langdon, New Haven, Connecticut, author of numerous books, including "Within Walking Distance: Creating Livable Communities for All" This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kelly, Trump, deportations, protests - readers weigh in | Letters
