FROM their usual formal attires, most Filipino senators of the 19th Congress were seen Tuesday evening donning maroon robes.
One may ask: why do they have to wear robes when they are not even members of the judicial branch of the Philippine government? That’s because these lawmakers took their oath as judges and convened as an impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Now, what are these impeachment robes called?
These are the Oxford crimson robes, modeled after those worn during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011.
The upper chamber of Congress gave a first look into the Oxford crimson robe of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero last month.
These Oxford crimson robes are made of soft and shiny velvet fabrics and have longer sleeves than the ones worn by senator-judges of the 15th Congress when they took their oath and convened as an impeachment court for Corona’s trial.
According to Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr., each robe costs around P7,000.
Escudero earlier said that the Senate’s budget for Duterte’s impeachment proceedings would not exceed P1 million, covering essentials like robes and identification cards for visitors.
Old impeachment robes
Fun fact: it was former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago who floated the idea of impeachment robes for the senator-judges in 2011, the same year she was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Before the velvet robes, the senators of the 15th Congress donned shorter-sleeved red robes with black line motifs on the front.
These pieces were supposed to be worn by the senator-judges for Corona’s impeachment trial, but the Senate changed them into velvet robes as some “did not like” the original robes.
The upper chamber also prepared black robes, which the senator-judges were supposed to wear for the impeachment trial of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. However, it did not push through as Gutierrez resigned in 2011.
The old red and black impeachment robes were displayed at the Senate Museum in Pasay City.
3 senators did not wear robes
When the senators took their oath and convened as an impeachment court on Tuesday evening, only three of them did not wear their impeachment robes.
They are senators Imee Marcos, Robinhood Padilla, and Cynthia Villar.
Padilla, a known Duterte ally, took his oath “with reservations” about the vice president’s impeachment trial.
Marcos, meanwhile, made her oath “ad cautelam (with caution) without prejudice to the resolution of the jurisdictional issue as well as issues pertaining to the validity of the impeachment complaint or to the filing thereof if any.”
In a video shared by ABS-CBN News, Villar said she was not given an impeachment robe.
The Senate decided to return the articles of impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives but clarified that this does not mean the case is dismissed or terminated.
