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Diokno, Lacson: Impeachment court cannot junk VP Sara's case by majority vote

The senator-judges cannot junk the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte by simple majority vote based on the Constitution nor should the motion come from them, incoming lawmakers of the 20th Congress Chel Diokno and Panfilo Lacson said Sunday. ''Yun ay wala rin sa Konstitusyon. Wala sa Constitution yung simple majority vote to dismiss impeachment (the simple majority vote to dismiss the impeachment complaint is not indicated in the constitution),' Diokno told Super Radyo dzBB. 'Bawal 'yung moves to convict. Ang oath ng mga senator-judge bilang senator-judge ay dinggin lang ang ebidensya at gawin lang ang paghuhusga kapag nadinig na ang ebidensya (Moves to convict are not allowed. The senator-judges took an oath to look at the evidence and judge when all of the pieces of evidence have been presented),' he added. Diokno made the statement after Senate President Francis Escudero said the Senate impeachment court may vote on the motion to dismiss Duterte's case. Earlier this week, Escudero said the Senate is a collegial body, and as an impeachment court, a decision can be placed through a simple majority vote. Escudero was referring to the constitutional requirement that two-thirds of the members of the Senate impeachment court is needed to convict the impeachable official under trial. 'Katawa-tawa' Meanwhile, incoming senator of the 20th congress Panfilo Lacson shared Diokno's opinion, noting that a motion to dismiss Duterte's case should come from the defense team and not from a senator sitting as a judge presiding over the impeachment proceedings. 'Sa akin, ang senator-judge hindi naman puwedeng mag-move to dismiss kasi judge eh. Saan ka naman nakakita ng huwes siya pa mismo magmo-move to dismiss eh kami rin 'yung made-decide? So, 'yung motion to dismiss mangagaling dapat 'yun sa defense,' Lacson said in a separate Super radyo dzBB interview. (For me, a senator-judge cannot move to dismiss since he is a judge. Where have you seen a judge who moves to dismiss when we're the ones who are supposed to hand down a decision? The motion to dismiss should come from the defense.) 'Ako maliwanag ako dun, hindi pwede mag move o mag submit ng motion to dismiss ang isang senator-judge kasi huwes kami. Hindi lang sa mali kung hindi improper, inappropriate, at katawa-tawa,' he added. (I'm clear that a senator-judge cannot move or submit a motion to dismiss since we're judges. It's not only wrong but also improper, inappropriate and ridiculous.) Duterte's impeachment complaint includes issues surrounding the use of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City. The complaint also includes her 'assassination' remarks against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. On June 10, the Senate sitting as an impeachment court voted to return to the House of Representatives the articles of impeachment against Duterte without dismissing or terminating them. This came after senator-judge Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, an ally of the Duterte family, even before the impeachment court convened, moved for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against the Vice President. —RF, GMA Integrated News