Senators: Impeachment trial cutting back time for legislative work

By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News

Published January 31, 2012 11:30am

(UPDATED 2:00 p.m.) - Senators on Tuesday said the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is leaving the Senate little time for legislative work. Senator Joker Arroyo noted that the Senate has been spending 16 hours per week for the impeachment trial and only four hours a week for legislative work. This prompted Arroyo to propose that all impeachment court sessions from Mondays to Thursdays be terminated at 5:00 p.m. Legislative sessions are held on Mondays and Tuesdays usually from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. On the other hand, impeachment proceedings are held from Mondays to Thursdays, usually from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. "Our constitutional duty is under Article III of the Constitution, that is legislation and policy. Impeachment is an incidental power that is not in the Article III...it's an incident of function," Arroyo said.

Arroyo likewise said he was "alarmed" that the House of Representatives was considering filing another impeachment complaint, this time against a Supreme Court associate justice.

"They're saying they will file another impeachment against a justice, that's fine, but it is as if they will just file an impeachment complaint, throws it to us and they have nothing more to do," Arroyo said. Among the major measures that have taken a backseat in the Senate are the Reproductive Health (RH) and the Freedom of Information (FOI) bills. The RH bill is still being discussed in plenary. Since resuming session this year, the Senate has only tackled it once. The FOI bill, on the other hand, is pending in the committee level. Meanwhile, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile explained that it was understandable that some of their legislative work is being hampered by the tight schedule.

"In the House they are freer but here in the Senate we are saddled with two distinct functions, trying an impeachment case and at the same time attending to our legislative work and also our confirmation authority," he told reporters during an interview on Tuesday. However, he said he will follow what majority of the senators want. "I am amenable to anything that the Senate would adopt," he said. Taxing for older senators? During Tuesday's Senate session, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the impeachment trial "is very taxing not only to us but also the people who work with us and work for us so that there [must] be a limitation."

Sotto noted that some of the older senators need to rest. "Some of us may fall asleep already," he said. Suddenly, in jest, he asked Senator Loren Legarda about the year of her birth. Legarda answered that she was born on January 28, 1960, making her 52 years old.

"1960s is very young, you should consider guys who were born in 1958 like me," said Sotto.

Preventing lawyers from grandstanding

Meanwhile, Senator Pia Cayetano, said the Senate can adjourn early if it can "prevent the prosecution from grandstanding."

"They keep presenting witnesses which can really be covered by the best evidence rule with the intention of to be able to present their testimony which obviously has more high impact," she said during Tuesday's Senate session.

"That is what wastes our time, we could achieve what we're trying to do in two hours so by five o clock we could achieve triple the work if we can be guided by that we could save so much time," she added.

Changes in the Senate schedule

Earlier during the session, Legarda suggested that they start legislative sessions at 9:00 a.m. sharp and end the impeachment trial at 6:00 p.m. sharp.

The senators have decided to hold legislative sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead of Mondays and Tuesdays.

If there are Commission on Appointments (CA) hearings on Wednesday, the chamber will adjourn the legislative session at 11:00 a.m. Mondays, on the other hand, will be dedicated to caucus.

The changes were suggested by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago in a letter to Sotto. - VVP/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: corona, renatocorona, impeachment, coronaimpeachment