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Chel Diokno asks, can a judge file a motion?

Philippines | National

Chel Diokno asks, can a judge file a motion?

By Ellson Quismorio

At A Glance

Can a judge file a motion for the benefit of an accused--in this case, Vice President Sara Duterte? Incoming Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno asked this question amid the "grave abuse of discretion" allegedly committed by the Senate when it essentially sent back Duterte's impeachment complaint to the House of Representatives.

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno (left), Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa (Facebook)

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno (left), Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa (Facebook)

Can a judge file a motion for the benefit of an accused--in this case, Vice President Sara Duterte?

Incoming Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno asked this question amid the "grave abuse of discretion" allegedly committed by the Senate when it essentially sent back Duterte's impeachment complaint to the House of Representatives.

"Iyan ang pinagtatakahan namin kung pwede ba mag-file ng motion ang isang judge? (That is what puzzles us, can a judge even file a motion?)" Diokno, one of the House prosecutors in the impeachment case, told House reporters in a chance interview Wednesday, June 11.

"Sa korte, ang nagpa-file ng motion ay iyong prosecution o kaya ang defense. So, iyan ang isa ring bagay na nakikita namin na lumalabag hindi lang sa Konstitusyon kundi sa rules na rin na inaprubahan nila," he said of the senators.

(In court, motions are filed by either the prosecution or the defense. So, this is another aspect that we see as a violation, not only of the Constitution but also of the rules they approved.)

"Kung minsan siguro ang nasa isip ng ibang mga senador ay as lawmaker pa sila, pero kailangan natin silang i-remind na senator-judge po sila, nanumpa sila bilang senator-judge," Diokno said.

(Sometimes, perhaps, some senators still think of themselves as lawmakers. But we need to remind them that they are senator-judges—they took an oath as senator-judges.)

"Ang sabi ko nga kanina inabandon na nila ang Constitution (Earlier I said they abandoned the Constitution) and that is really a clear grave abuse of discretion," added the incoming congressman of the 20th Congress.

It was only on Tuesday, June 10 that senators convened as an impeachment court. This was over four months after the House of Representatives had impeached Vice President Duterte and sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

The senator-judges, voting 18-5, ended up voting to return the seven articles of impeachment to its origin, the House of Representatives, so it could be ceritified as non-violative of the one-impeachment-case-per-year rule.

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa originally made a motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint outright, but it was amended by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano so as to simply return the complaint to the House. This, despite neither dimissing nor terminating the case.

"Hindi umuupo ang Senado bilang lawmaking body, sila ay umuupo bilang mga senator-judges (The Senate does not sit as a lawmaking body in this case; rather, they function as senator-judges)," Diokno said.

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