Senate President Pro Tempore Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s statement that he would reject the vice presidency if Vice President Sara Duterte were removed from office raised concerns among netizens that several senator-judges may have already settled on a verdict even before the proceedings have concluded.
Escudero, who presides over the impeachment court, said accepting a nomination to replace Duterte after participating in the decision to remove her would constitute a conflict of interest.
“Kami y’ung nagpasya eh, hindi yata tama ‘yon,” he said in a October 25 podcast.
While the Presiding Officer clarified that no offer had been made and that he had not yet decided how to vote in the trial, his statement nevertheless drew online comments voicing concerns about possible prejudgment.
“So, [already] decided to convict?” netizen Arnaiz Bing commented.
“We all know na some senators [have] already made [up] there mind! Luto!” netizen Fernando Tagodin wrote.
Several netizens called for impartiality in the impeachment process, with some urging Escudero to make a formal ruling concerning opinions outside the trial from senator-judges that could raise concerns about impartiality.
“The Presiding Officer should make rulings on expressed opinions by explicitly biased senator-judges,” Facebook user Rose Arrienda wrote.
_*Cayetano’s call for commitment to political neutrality*_
Amid the discussion, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano emphasized that all senators who sit as judges in impeachment proceedings should declare their political neutrality and ensure that their decisions are based on evidence rather than incentives to convict.
He welcomed Escudero’s public refusal to benefit politically from a possible conviction.
“Tama po ito! All of us senator-judges should make this declaration,” Cayetano wrote in an October 26 Facebook post.
“It’s essential that in all impeachment proceedings (especially of Presidents and Vice Presidents), Senator-Judges are politically neutral and will have no incentive to convict except for evidence that proves the article/s of impeachment,” he added.
The trial, which is set to resume on November 8, now focuses on Article II covering Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth and failure to fully declare assets and divest business interests, after prosecutors withdrew the three other impeachment articles earlier this month.