Impossible to tackle federal shift while Senate handles Sereno impeachment case —Drilon

The impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno may get in the way of the plan of President Rodrigo Duterte's allies set a referendum on the new federal charter by May 2018.

"Nababasa ko sa pahayagan na sinasabi ng House committee on justice na sa Mayo ipadadala sa amin iyong impeachment complaint [against Sereno]. From my experience, the moment na mag-impeachment court kami wala kaming ibang matatrabaho," Drilon said in a radio interview.

"The remaining six months of 2018 (June to December), we cannot do anything so I cannot see kung paano namin aamyendahan ang Saligang Batas," Drilon said.

The last impeachment trial conducted by the Senate was on the case of Chief Justice Renato Corona, which lasted for five months -- January 16 to May 29 in 2012.

Based Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's projection, the new federal charter could be ready for a referendum simultaneous with the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in May.

The Duterte administration has been pushing for a shift to a federal form of government to address issues particularly in strife-torn Mindanao.

Drilon said in the interview that Alvarez's statement be based only on the House of Representatives' own timeline.

He also said that he was confident that his fellow senators, particularly 11 colleagues who have "conflict of interest," will not vote for the constitutional amendments needed for the new federal charter.

"Hindi naman puwedeng haharap ka sa taumbayan sasabihin mo pumayag ako sa amendment kasi ma-extend ang term ko, sa palagay ko naman hindi iyan gagawin ng mga kasamahan ko sa Senado," he said.

He also said that the Senate has not even started discussions on the possible Charter change.

"As of now, walang official proposal sa Senado on federal system. Eh masalimuot po itong proposal na ito. This is something very complicated. Hindi puwedeng basta basta na lang na kapag isinubo ay kailangang aprubahan," he added. —ALG, GMA News