Prosecution ‘hopeful’ Supreme Court will dismiss Padilla, Go petition vs impeachment voting rule

MANILA — The prosecution is “hopeful” that the Supreme Court will dismiss the petition of several senator judges questioning the constitutionality of the Senate impeachment court’s decision regarding which members of the chamber could vote in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, counsel for prosecution Lorna Kapunan said on Wednesday.

Kapunan made the comment hours after senator-judges Christopher “Bong” Go and Robin Padilla went to the Supreme Court to ask magistrates to nullify the Senate impeachment court’s earlier decision that the two-thirds vote required to convict Duterte would be based on the number of senators who are “capable of participating” on verdict day.

“It’s a matter of right if they want to file… Hopefully, we will also get a good decision there, a dismissal of the case because wala namang grave abuse,” Kapunan told reporters on the sidelines of the impeachment trial

“It is still premature because the right time to question it is when there is a final vote on acquittal or conviction,” she said.

The Supreme Court earlier dismissed a similar petition, saying that the private citizens who filed the petition were not parties to the impeachment trial, and that the plea was premature as the impeachment court has yet to hold an actual vote where the rule in question would apply.

Prosecution spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. declined to comment on whether Go and Padilla’s move shows partiality for the respondent, saying that the prosecution continues to “respect any action that may be taken by the respondent or any concerned party about it.”

“Everyone has their right to pursue remedies that they feel are allowed under the rules,” he said.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that we stand by our decision that the court’s ruling was proper and is grounded on strong legal and jurisprudential basis.”