Santiago, Roco lock horns on constitutional crisis

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago yesterday belittled suggestions that the country is sliding into a constitutional crisis because of the resignations of 11 congressmen from the panel prosecuting the impeachment trial of President Estrada.

"We are in a stalemate. We are not yet in constitutional crisis and I hope that day will not arrive," Santiago said.

But Sen. Raul Roco disputed Santiago’s position, saying the congressmen’s resignation indeed sparked constitutional "difficulty."

"The Constitution mandates that the House can initiate but the real party in interest is the people. The House acts to implement this interest and it selects the prosecutors," Roco said.

The 11 congressmen, elected to prosecute the articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 13, resigned en masse on Tuesday after the Senate impeachment court voted 11-10 to exclude vital evidence from the trial.

While their resignations were "irrevocable," Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella deferred action until after a caucus with the 11 congressmen which is set for today.

Santiago was among those who voted to exclude evidence that would allegedly prove that the President owned several secret bank accounts that were used to launder protection money collected from gambling lords.

The senator, a former judge herself, said the court can proceed with the trial by declaring the prosecution in default and allowing the defense to present its evidence.

If the prosecution panel pursues its withdrawal from the trial, the court may declare them in default."If this happens, the tribunal would have no other option but to resume the impeachment trial, even without the prosecution, by allowing the defense to present its own evidence," she contended.

She argued that under the Rules of Court, failure of either party to attend court hearings may be construed as an express waiver to present evidence.

"Hence, the court will hear the case based on evidence at hand," she said, adding that even the Senate minority cannot block the continuance of the trial.

Roco however, opined that there now exists a constitutional "difficulty" in the country "because we have lost the one means of determining whether the President is guilty or not."

Roco explained that the trial cannot move forward but neither can the charges be withdrawn.

"This is not good for the President because now, the people will have to make their own direct judgments. That is the tragedy of the vote that was understood by the people as a suppression of evidence," he said.

Meanwhile, House assistant majority leader and Sorsogon Rep. Francis Joseph Escudero said the prosecution panel composed of 11 congressmen should not have tendered their resignation and should have kept their oath to finish the trial until the end.

"The prosecutors should be reminded that their client here is the Filipino people represented by the Filipino people," Escudero said.

"They are bound by oath to carry out their duties and see to it that the interest of the people are represented in this historic case," he added.