Co-author: Ramon Andre Cedro l April 18, 2025 l Manila Times
While much has been said about impeachment in the news and self-proclaimed experts have discussed the matter at length, not every Juan really understands its purpose, and even less its implications.
Whether you belong to the Boomer, X, or millennial generation, you have likely encountered at least one impeachment proceeding. With impeachment proceedings again looming at the Senate, Generations Z and Alpha will be acquainted with it as well.
Other than the Senate debating on whether to hold special sessions to accommodate the proceedings, what do we really know about impeachment? Impeachment has for its purpose the removal of a public official for serious crimes or misconduct as provided in the Constitution. Under the charter, the president, vice president, members of the Supreme Court, members of the constitutional commissions and the Ombudsman are all impeachable, and culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust are grounds for impeachment.
An impeachment case is initiated exclusively by the House of Representatives. The Articles of Impeachment are prepared by the chamber, and these contain all the grounds for impeachment, conviction and removal from office of the impeachable official. Once approval of the articles by at least one-third of all members is obtained, proceedings will end at the House. At this point, the official is considered impeached. The articles will then be transmitted to the Senate, which shall act as a tribunal and decide the case.
Once before the Senate, the impeached official will have to answer or plead to each charge, and the Senate will hear arguments from both the prosecution — the House as represented by a panel of prosecutors chosen from among its members — and the defense, which comprises officials who will be represented by counsel of his choice.
Unless the Senate rules change, trials of all the articles should be completed before senators vote on the final question on whether or not the impeachment should be sustained. Once trial is concluded, each article is separately voted upon by members of the Senate. If none is given a vote of guilty by at least two-thirds of all senators, the trial will result in an acquittal. But if at least two-thirds of the Senate votes guilty on one article, this is sufficient to result in a conviction.
What if an impeached official resigns after he is impeached by the House but before he is convicted by the Senate? Based on earlier impeachment proceedings, the Senate will terminate the trial. Nevertheless, many law experts maintain that it can proceed even after such an event as the consequence of impeachment, apart from removal from office, is disqualification from holding public office in the future.
Should the official be acquitted, this will not preclude the filing of further impeachment proceedings, subject only to a one-year prohibition. If the official is convicted, meanwhile, he/she will be removed from office and disqualified from holding any government post. To be clear, an impeachment conviction cannot be pardoned.
With the Senate having adjourned and currently in recess, can it try an impeachment case? This matter is debatable, with one side arguing that the chamber can only hold proceedings while it is in session, and the other side claiming that the trial must be held immediately. Those in favor of proceedings while in recess say that the manner utilized by the House to impeach the vice president is that trial by the Senate should proceed forthwith, a word that means without delay, as is used in other parts of the Constitution. So far, members of the Senate and law experts continue to debate this matter.
What is likely on everyone’s minds today is that if the vice president is convicted and removed, who then becomes her replacement? The Constitution has a ready answer — the president should nominate a vice president from among the members of the Senate and the House. If a majority of all the members of both houses of Congress, voting separately, confirms the nominee, he/she will become the vice president.
Yes, all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have an equal chance of becoming vice president at this point, a position that is literally a heartbeat away from the presidency. Let that sink in.
***The views expressed herein are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of their office as well as FINEX. For comments, email rfcedro@gorricetalaw.com or msgorriceta@gorricetalaw.com. Photo is from Pinterest.