Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the Senate won’t make moves to hasten the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte by asking the President to call for a special session to tackle the Articles of Impeachment sent to the Upper Chamber by the House of Representatives.

Vice President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, urged her supporters to spend their time working for their families and air their protests on social media instead of joining street protests.

Escudero made the statement after President Marcos’ declaration last week that he would call for a special session of the Senate to tackle the impeachment of the vice president only if requested by the Senate president himself.

“Manggagaling ba sa akin ang kagustuhang yan? Hindi, dahil uulitin ko, ayokong tratuhing espesyal yan dahil ayoko naman mapulaan sa kabilang banda na masyado naman minamadali itong bagay na ito pag kinumpara sa ibang impeachment complaint (Will that request come from me? No. Because, as I’ve said, I don’t want to treat this as a special case, because I don’t want to be criticized that we are rushing this issue compared to the other impeachment complaints),” Escudero said in an interview over Radio DZBB.

He acknowledged that even though there would be sectors who would be disappointed over the seeming lack of action by the Upper Chamber, the Senate cannot dismiss the need to be diligent in studying the impeachment complaint and in preparing for the formal trial later on.

“Sa isang political process tulad ng impeachment, palaging may isang sektor na di masaya. Wala na kaming magagawa dun (In a political process like impeachment, there would always be a sector that would be disgruntled. We can't do anything about it),” he pointed out.

“Sa dulo magpapasya kami, hindi para matuwa ang isang panig, pero dahil yun ay nakabatay sa ebidenysa at sangayon sa proseso (In the end, we will decide, not to make one party happy, but one that is based on evidence and based on the process),” Escudero insisted.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, for his part, said a special session would help move forward critical legislation and allow the impeachment court to formally convene.

In a separate interview on Radio DWIZ, Pimentel emphasized that the special session will provide an opportunity to address various important bills and speed up the impeachment proceedings.

“Marami kaming mga minamadaling panukalang batas, so pwede pa ring magbenepisyo yung mga yun sa special session (We have a lot of pending bills that need to be rushed to pass, so those can still benefit from the special session),” Pimentel said.

These measures include the proposed New Government Auditing Code and the amendments to the Cooperative Code, the proposed Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy, Tax on Vape, E-Gov, and Capital Markets Reform.

“Kung tatlong araw ang special session, pwede na naming gamitin yung dalawang araw doon—o dalawa’t kalahating araw—para sa mga panukalang batas na sinabi ko (If the special session is three days, we can use the two days there—or two and a half days—for the bills I mentioned),” the minority leader said.

“So, parang binigyan kami ng additional na oras para maipagpatuloy namin yung proseso ng mga panukalang batas (So, it will seem that we are given additional time so that we can continue processing the proposed of bills),” he said.

The Senate, then, would formally convene as an impeachment court and begin preparations to avoid wasting time. Furthermore, the Constitution requires action to be taken on matters such as impeachment.

Pimentel urged that the process be started without unnecessary delay.

“Binasa ko rin yung Constitution. Ang sabi doon, ‘forthwith.’ Ang ibig sabihin ng forthwith, mayroon ka rin dapat sense of urgency. Hindi naman ibig sabihin ng forthwith na dapat pagkatanggap mo, kilusan mo na agad. Hindi naman ganun (I also read the Constitution. It says, 'forthwith.' Forthwith means, you must also have a sense of urgency. Forthwith does not mean that when you receive it, you should move immediately. It's not like that),” he explained.

“Pero, kunwari, pagkatanggap mo, kikilusan mo pagkatapos ng isang linggo, okay lang ‘yon. Pag isang buwan, okay pa rin ‘yon (But, suppose, when you accept, you will act after a week, that's okay. After a month, it's still okay),” he said.

Pimentel pointed out that under Article XI, Section III (4) of the Constitution, it is stated that: “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

Thus, any further postponement of the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte would violate this provision.

“Kung palalampasin mo ng tatlo at kalahating buwan, hindi na po forthwith ‘yon (If you miss three and a half months, that’s no longer forthwith),” he added.

Don’t rally, just work and protest online

Instead of participating in street rallies, Vice President Sara Duterte asked her supporters to spend their time working for their families and instead air their protests on social media.

In a press conference on Friday, Feb. 7, the official frowned upon the practice of going to rallies in support of politicians, including herself, who was impeached by the House of Representatives last week.

She said her supporters’ time is better spent working and taking care of their families because most Filipinos are breadwinners with children to feed.

“Sa panahon ngayon na sobrang mahal ng presyo ng mga bilihin lalong-lalo na ng pagkain, sasabihin ko sa mga supporters, sa taong bayan, na unahin muna nila ang trabaho at negosyo nila kaysa sa mag-rally sila sa daan (Times like this, when prices are high, especially food, I will tell my supporters, the people, to prioritize their jobs and businesses instead of rallying on the streets),” she added.

Noting that the Philippines is the social media capital of the world, the official instead advised her supporters to protest online.

“Kung gusto talaga nilang magsalita at tumulong, doon na lang sila sa social media kung saan nakakatrabaho pa rin sila pero nagagawa nila kung ano yung nararamdaman nila na gusto nilang gawin — at iyon ay magsalita at marinig sila ng taumbayan at ng mundo (If they want to speak up and help, they can do so on social media where they can work and express their feelings—where they can speak up and be heard by the people and the world),” Duterte said.

Last month, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) mounted the National Rally for Peace that drew a reported crowd of 1.8 million members.

The INC said the rally was in support of President Marcos’ call not to impeach the Vice President and refused to take sides in the rift between the Dutertes and Marcoses.

However, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte claimed his sister’s impeachment by the House of Representatives last week came after the INC rally which showed the group’s defiance to her being politically persecuted by lawmakers, most of whom were allies of the President.