ALL eyes on the Senate, awaiting for it to convene as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte.
Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is accused of committing “high crimes,” including graft and corruption and her alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Now the question on people’s minds, should Duterte be removed from office, who will succeed her as the second-highest official in the executive branch of the Philippine government?
According to Section 9, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, the president can nominate a vice president among the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
This means that Marcos could choose anyone from Congress to replace Duterte, as long as they met the constitutional requirements to be elected as vice president. Under Section 2, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, a vice president must be a natural-born Filipino citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the Philippines, able to read and write, and at least 40 years old.
But Marcos’ nominee does not automatically assume the vice presidency.
The Constitution states that the replacement should still be confirmed by “a majority vote” of members of the two chambers of Congress, voting separately.
Currently, there are 306 representatives and 23 senators. The nominee would need at least 154 votes from the House of Representatives and 12 votes from the Senate.
Duterte made an infamous history of being the first vice president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, as 215 congressmen signed and verified an impeachment complaint against her on February 5. The verified complaint for impeachment, containing seven Articles of Impeachment, has been transmitted to the Senate.
If acquitted, accusers must wait for another year to file a new impeachment complaint against Duterte.
Marcos: Duterte’s trial would continue in 20th Congress
The Senate did not convene as an impeachment court on Monday, despite the attempts of Senators Koko Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros to start Duterte’s impeachment trial. On the same day, Senator Robin Padilla, Duterte’s ally, filed a resolution seeking the dismissal of the vice president’s impeachment case.
But after hours of plenary debate, Senate President Chiz Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the trial. The senator-judges, meanwhile, will take their oath on Tuesday afternoon, June 10.
The Senate is expected to convene as an impeachment court on Wednesday, June 11.
With only a few days before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die, Marcos believes that Duterte’s impeachment will carry over into the 20th Congress.
“It is very clear that it will. Because there is no way that even if they start the trial now, they will finish it before the new senators come in. Well, again, the senators will decide,” the president told Palace reporters.
Marcos also said that he would watch how Escudero would make a “peaceful transition” between the incumbent and incoming lawmakers.
Duterte travels to Malaysia
Ahead of her impeachment trial, Duterte’s office announced on Tuesday that the vice president is travelling to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for “a personal trip with her family.”
It added that Duterte will attend an Independence Day celebration on June 12 and participate in an Office of the Vice President (OVP) program consultation with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the same day.
Duterte’s Malaysia trip comes more than a week after she celebrated her 47th birthday in the Netherlands, where her father is currently detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
