Senator: Impeach court shouldn't be shackled by SC rulings
A senator-judge in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona said Thursday that the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, should not let itself be bound by any Supreme Court ruling.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said during the 15th day of Corona’s impeachment trial that no Supreme Court ruling “will be solidly foursquare applicable” to the Senate court.
“We're supreme in our jurisdiction as court. We shouldn't allow ourselves to tread erroneously, be shackled by SC rulings,” he said.
Pangilinan made this remark a day after Corona’s lawyers formally asked the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment trial after the Senate allowed the opening of the chief justice’s bank accounts.
The senator, however, said the impeachment court could still draw wisdom from Supreme Court decisions, but must not be constrained by them.
“We must draw from SC rulings but we must also draw from other rulings, whether executive, legislative, or judicial,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan added that the Senate impeachment court is “treading on unfamiliar terrain where no entity has ventured this far before.”
Cuevas: Impeach court not above SC
Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas, meanwhile, challenged some of the senator-judges’ views that the Senate is higher than the Supreme Court.
“We can hardly agree much less concur in that pronouncement because it is not based on any jurisprudence,” he said in a separate manifestation during Thursday’s trial.
Cuevas was reacting to statements made by Senator Teofisto Guingona III during Wednesday’s trial that “the SC should and could not impose its will on the Senate impeachment court.”
Cuevas cited a high court ruling, Francisco vs. House of Representatives, to support his claim that the high court has the power to determine if an impeachment court has committed abuse of discretion.
“We believe this dictum from the honorable court holds water and must be followed,” he said.
Guingona, however ,clarified that he never said that the Senate is above the Supreme Court. He explained that he only said that the Senate impeachment court “is not co-equal” with the higher court.
“If the counsel believes otherwise, that is his opinion… The time will come when these opposing views will come to be tested and we will await that time,” he told Cuevas. — KBK, GMA News
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said during the 15th day of Corona’s impeachment trial that no Supreme Court ruling “will be solidly foursquare applicable” to the Senate court.
“We're supreme in our jurisdiction as court. We shouldn't allow ourselves to tread erroneously, be shackled by SC rulings,” he said.
Pangilinan made this remark a day after Corona’s lawyers formally asked the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment trial after the Senate allowed the opening of the chief justice’s bank accounts.
The senator, however, said the impeachment court could still draw wisdom from Supreme Court decisions, but must not be constrained by them.
“We must draw from SC rulings but we must also draw from other rulings, whether executive, legislative, or judicial,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan added that the Senate impeachment court is “treading on unfamiliar terrain where no entity has ventured this far before.”
Cuevas: Impeach court not above SC
Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas, meanwhile, challenged some of the senator-judges’ views that the Senate is higher than the Supreme Court.
“We can hardly agree much less concur in that pronouncement because it is not based on any jurisprudence,” he said in a separate manifestation during Thursday’s trial.
Cuevas was reacting to statements made by Senator Teofisto Guingona III during Wednesday’s trial that “the SC should and could not impose its will on the Senate impeachment court.”
Cuevas cited a high court ruling, Francisco vs. House of Representatives, to support his claim that the high court has the power to determine if an impeachment court has committed abuse of discretion.
“We believe this dictum from the honorable court holds water and must be followed,” he said.
Guingona, however ,clarified that he never said that the Senate is above the Supreme Court. He explained that he only said that the Senate impeachment court “is not co-equal” with the higher court.
“If the counsel believes otherwise, that is his opinion… The time will come when these opposing views will come to be tested and we will await that time,” he told Cuevas. — KBK, GMA News
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