THE Senate and the impeachment court should not interfere in the efforts of Sens. Rodante Marcoleta and Jose Estrada to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Sunday.
Lacson voiced concerns that the Senate, acting either as a legislative body or as impeachment court, could be perceived as putting undue pressure on the Sandiganbayan, where plunder cases against the two senators are pending.
“It is better to leave it to their lawyers to argue their cases if they want to participate via Zoom or online,” Lacson said in an interview on DZBB radio.
“We’ll leave it to their lawyers because if we interfere, it would be like a court going up against another court. We may give the perception that we are intervening for two of our colleagues, if they would ask the anti-graft court to release them or allow them to be escorted to the trial,” he added.
Marcoleta has written to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero insisting on his right to vote as a senator-judge despite being detained on plunder charges.
Estrada’s bid to attend the impeachment trial was junked by the Sandiganbayan last July.
Meanwhile, Lacson said he expects the impeachment court to gain valuable insights from the “amici curiae” or “friends of the court” whom it invited to advise it on the issue of the voting threshold for conviction in the vice president’s impeachment trial.
The four are retired Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno and Hilario Davide Jr. and retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna.
“We want to hear from them because they know much about the Constitution and the law. It is important to hear what they will say, word for word,” Lacson said.
Lacson said that after hearing the amici curiae, the senator-judges are expected to vote on Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo’s motion for reconsideration involving the 16-vote, or two-thirds-of-all-members, threshold for conviction.
Escudero had earlier indicated that the 16-vote threshold for conviction was a ruling of the impeachment court.
“This is a novel scenario. It is only now that some senator-judges could possibly not attend the trial because some members are either detained, abroad, or in hiding,” Lacson said.
He also cited the potential scenario of nine senator-judges being incapacitated for one reason or another while the impeachment trial is ongoing.
“What if nine senator-judges are somehow incapacitated, will the impeachment trial still push through even if the conviction threshold stays at 16? We would be interested in hearing the amici curiae’s opinions on this,” he added.
