Robin Padilla, allied senators may skip Duterte impeachment trial over 'disregard for law'

Senator Robin Padilla on Sunday said he and his allied senators may skip the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should there be what he described as disregard for the law.

Padilla told Super Radyo dzBB that senators in the minority bloc have not discussed skipping the impeachment trial, but such talks may happen soon.

“Wala pong ganoong usapan pero baka malapit na po (There has been no such discussion yet, but it may happen soon),” Padilla said.

He also opposed the Senate impeachment court’s ruling that the two-thirds voting threshold should be based on the number of senators who are “legally and factually participating in the impeachment proceedings.”

“Marami po kasing kagulat-gulat na mga nangyayari. Huwag na po nating i-identify kung na minority, majority kasi hindi maganda kapag impeachment tapos kami ay namomolitika pa. Kami po na naniniwala na sundin ang saligang batas,” Padilla said.

(There have been many surprising developments. Let us not identify whether we belong to the minority or majority bloc because it would not look good if we were seen as engaging in politics while an impeachment trial is ongoing. We believe in upholding the Constitution.)

“Ayaw naming mabaluktot ang batas. Kapag hindi tumigil ang pagbabaluktot ng batas ay baka baka dumating na punto na hindi na kami umattend,” he added.

(We do not want the law to be twisted. If this continues, there may come a point when we will no longer attend the proceedings.)

Earlier this week, Padilla and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to declare null the Senate’s impeachment country’s ruling on the voting threshold.

In a petition for certiorari and prohibition, the senators and the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) asked the SC to issue a status quo ante order or a temporary restraining order directing the Impeachment court and the House of Representatives to refrain from excluding any senator from the count of “all members of the Senate” under the Constitution.

“The Constitution does not count only the Senators it finds convenient. It says ‘all,’ and ‘all’ has never meant ‘some.” Two-thirds of twenty-four is sixteen,” the petitioners said.

'A major insult'

In a separate dzBB interview, House prosecution panel member Representative Jonathan Keith Flores expressed disappointment in Padilla’s statement, saying that attending the impeachment trial is a “constitutional duty” of a senator, regardless of political color.

“Nakakalungkot na ganon na ang attitude nila kasi it's a constitutional duty, so regardless kung anong partido ka, kaalyado, it is your duty to be there and to hear and decide on this case,” Flores said.

(It is unfortunate that they have that attitude because this is a constitutional duty. Regardless of your party or political allies, it is your duty to be there, hear the case, and decide on it.)

“Kung sa tingin nila (if they think) there’s something wrong that should be raised before the Supreme Court. By all means, they should go to the Supreme Court and question it, but their absence speaks a lot, not about the Senate but about themselves as senators,” he added.

Flores further described the decision to listen to the proceedings online from their offices instead of physically attending the trial as an "insult to the impeachment court."

“Pinapakita din nila how they value the impeachment proceeding, so sa tingin nila it’s not as important. That's why they are staying in their offices, and I think it's a big insult in the impeachment court as a court itself kasi it's an obligation of a senator,” he said.

(They are also showing how much they value the impeachment proceedings. It seems they do not consider them important, which is why they are staying in their offices. I think this is a major insult to the impeachment court as an institution because attending the proceedings is a senator’s obligation.)

Villar joins majority bloc

On Thursday, Senator Mark Villar moved from the minority to the majority bloc after the Senate elected him to the Commission on Appointments and as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works.

For Padilla, the change should be seen in a positive light.

“Sa totoo lang po, sa ganitong bagay, kailangan positive ka lagi. Kasi masyado ng negative ang politika,” Padilla said.

(To be honest, in matters like this, you have to remain positive because politics has become too negative.)

“‘Yung paglipat ni (Senator) Mark (Villar) bilang legislative senator ‘yun. Hindi siya as senator-judge kasi diyan naman sa pagiging senator-judge wala namang minority, majority diyan,” he added.

(Senator Mark Villar’s transfer was in his capacity as a legislative senator, not as a senator-judge, because there is no minority or majority bloc in the impeachment court.)

Following the development, the majority bloc is now composed of 14 members, while the minority has 10 members — four of whom are currently not attending sessions.

Currently, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained over separate plunder charges, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is in hiding amid an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, and Senator Loren Legarda has been absent for weeks due to health concerns and is currently abroad.

Padilla hoped that the minority bloc would not lose more members following Villar’s transfer.

“Wala pang nagpapaalam. Sana wala naman pero hindi naman namin ikasasama ng loob ‘yan kasi katunayan ho kakaunti lang naman talaga kaming nag-umpisang minority diyan. Sila lang naman ‘yung lumipat sa amin. So, hindi naman,” Padilla said.

(No one has informed us of any plans to leave. I hope no one does, but we will not take it against them because, in fact, we were only a few when we initially formed the minority bloc. They were the ones who later joined us.)
—RF, GMA News