This representation votes no. Unang-una, ang boto na “no” ay hindi nangangahulugan na hindi natin nirerespeto ang pasya o kapangyarihan ng Korte Suprema, lalong lalo na hindi pa ito pinal. Wala sa hanay ng mga senador na bumoto ng “no” na nagsasabi na hindi dapat respetuhin ang pasya ng Korte Suprema. Hintayin lang ang final decision. Kung tutuusin, kung hinintay lang natin ang final decision, hindi tayo nagpasya at wala tayong ginawa na mga hakbang out of respect dahil nga pending pa, wala tayong nilabag sa pagiging immediately executory ng desisyon. Kaya kataka-taka kung bakit kailangan magkaroon ng archiving pero pasya ito ng mayorya.
Mr. President, bumoto tayo ng “no” dahil naniniwala tayo na mas mainam sana na intayin nga ng resolution ng motion for reconsideration, dagdag syempre diyan ang pagkilala ng prinsipyo ng co-equality sa House of Representatives, yung inter-chamber courtesy, yung pagbibigay galang sa isang co-equal. Respeto sa isang co-equal. Kaya nais po sana natin na i-lay muna yung matter on the table. To vote to archive the complaint despite the MR still pending, I believe, Mr. President, and I believe the others who voted “no” share this position, is premature as the ruling may still be reversed or modified.
In addition, at ito nga ang isang contention, to vote to archive the impeachment complaint, if at all, is to give the Senate powers which are only reserved for the impeachment court deciding, trying and deciding impeachment cases. Precedents were cited in that the Senate, and not the impeachment court, acted on the impeachment cases of former President Estrada and Merceditas Gutierrez. But we submit, iba yung facts noong mga kasong iyon. In the Estrada case, supervening events led to the termination of the trial. In the case of Gutierrez, the Senate did not convene as an impeachment court. Kaya iba. Apples to oranges, ika nga. We believe archiving the case is a matter exclusively within the powers and jurisdiction of the Senate impeachment court kaya lay on the table sana ang maayos na proseso under our rules.
Allow me to reiterate that the final decision of the Supreme Court, yes, must be respected. The Supreme Court ruled that the impeachment court did not acquire jurisdiction. And its ruling rendered the official acts of convening as a court, of taking the oath, issuing of summons, and remanding the complaint as, for all intents and purposes, nullified. Kaya tinanong natin kanina, “Ano na ang nangyari sa constitutional duty and constitutional power as sole power to try and decide impeachment cases?”
We took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and that includes our own determination whether or not the nullification, the acts of the impeachment court and exclusive sole power to try and decide impeachment cases, if the ruling was based on the facts and not on a misapprehension of the facts. Kaya nga sana hinintay ang motion for reconsideration. The impeachment court being ousted of its jurisdiction by the Supreme Court is unprecedented based and sadly, as we read the ruling, the decision, based on the wrong facts. It is disturbing.
The distinguished minority leader pointed out—point for point in his interpellation and manifestation—the errors in the facts that the Supreme Court based its findings of grave abuse. I reiterate: one cannot be right with the law if one is wrong with the facts. And that’s why napakahalaga nung motion for reconsideration. There is still an opportunity for the errors to be corrected kaya andiyan ang MR.
And this is the reason why we voted “no.” Napaka-precedent-setting nitong nawalan ng jurisdiction ang impeachment court, nawalan ng kapangyarihan o isinantabi ang kapagyarihan, sole power of the House of Representatives to initiate proceedings, at nawa’y sa pamamagitan ng motion for reconsideration mabalik yung ating kaninang nabanggit ma-harmonize yung lahat nung mga constitutional provisions na hindi nagaaway, kung hindi lahat mabibigyan ng legal and binding effect.
The power of judicial review, the power, the sole power to initiate impeachment proceedings, and the sole power to try and decide cases of the Supreme Court, of the House of Representatives, and of the Senate.
Maraming salamat.