Azcuna: SC unlikely to intervene on Chiz as presiding officer

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) is unlikely to intervene in the attempt by some lawyers associated with Vice President Sara Duterte to have her impeachment trial stopped on questions regarding the election of Sen. Francis Escudero as presiding officer, according to retired Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna.

“Personally, I don’t think the Supreme Court will intervene at this stage, especially on the question of who can preside over the impeachment trial because it is really the prerogative of the Senate to decide on who will preside over the impeachment trial,” Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, said yesterday over ANC.

He noted the Constitution “does not provide any provision, other than that the Senate can adopt rules to implement effectively the provision on impeachment.”

It only mandates that a presiding officer – particularly the Chief Justice – is required only when the President is facing an impeachment trial.

A group of lawyers allied with Duterte led by Israelito Torreon filed a petition before the SC seeking to stop the impeachment trial following Escudero’s election as presiding officer.

During the hearing, Tulfo asked Calilung whether he had the expertise to determine if a video was AI-generated, noting that some have questioned the authenticity of the video and believe it may have been created using AI.

Calilung replied that, based on his personal observation, the video was not AI-generated, particularly because it runs for more than two hours. He explained that AI-generated videos are typically much shorter.

Tulfo also asked whether the NBI had examined public reactions to the Vice President’s video.

Calilung testified that some comments expressed agreement with the Vice President’s statement regarding the killing of the President, while others allegedly even called for a people power uprising.