Law experts urge focus on VP Sara impeach trial, cite Avelino v Cuenco ruling on quorum validity

MANILA, Philippines — A group of law school deans and professors urged senators on Thursday, June 4 to “return to the urgent business” of the Senate, particularly in conducting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which they described as the “most important”.

“We call on those who have so far caused the Senate sessions to stall to desist from derailing the trial of the Vice-President,” their joint statement read.

The statement was signed by deans and professors from various law schools, including retired Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna, who is also one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution. Fr. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D., the current Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan and former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is also among the signatories.

‘A political decision’

The group of law experts also weighed in on the debate on whether there was indeed a quorum in the Senate on June 3.

According to them, insisting that lawmaker-in-hiding Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should be included in the official count of senators in determining a quorum is like giving him “the power to hold the entire legislature hostage”.

“Certainly, it could not have been the intent of the framers of the Constitution to give any member either of the House of Representatives or the Senate the power to cause a deadlock that makes all legislative business impossible,” they said.

They also cited the Avelino v Cuenco ruling to explain the validity of the declared quorum on June 3, which led to the resumption of Senate sessions after two days of cancellation due to gridlock and the refusal of the Cayetano bloc to show up.

“The pronouncement of the Supreme Court calls attention to its sensitivity to political realities — and the political reality is that 12 chose to appear to discharge their duties as senators, while 11 chose to stay away, shirking their bounden duty!”, they added.

‘Nobody claims 12=13’

The group also addressed Sen. Pia Cayetano’s earlier remark questioning the validity of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian’s takeover as Senate president pro tempore after 12 senators, including Sen. Chiz Escudero, who previously associated himself with the Cayetano bloc, elected him to the position.

“The question has been asked: Since when has 12 become 13, and the plain answer is NEVER, but the premise is mistaken, because it assumes that 13 is the magic number for a quorum. That would be so were the membership of the Senate undisturbed,” they said.

They also seemed to respond to Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that he was still holding the top position in the Senate.

“Since 12 of 23 senators have decided that Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, then certainly there is no way that one who can count on only 11 votes in his support – including his own – can continue to assert his leadership”, they added.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the national organization of lawyers in the country, also declared in a separate statement that the June 3 quorum was “lawful and valid”.