What people should know about impeachment

While the pundits are busy focusing on the war in the Middle East and the oil crisis which is now disrupting the world economy, and while the people are waiting with bated breath on how the ICC shall decide on the issue of confirming or not confirming the charges against past president Rodrigo Duterte, the national attention is on the impeachment (again) of the vice president.

There is nothing wrong when Filipinos are too fixated on the impeachment because it is important for a nation to be politically aware of the latest developments in the political and legal horizon. That being said, it should be stressed, however, that there are fundamental things that Filipinos should know before opening their mouths and before posting outrageous remarks on social media.

Those who have the audacity to post draconian declarations about the pending impeachment cases before the House of Representatives are better advised to study the principles on impeachment first, before posting some trivial inanities on social media. There is too much garbage on the internet that propagates fallacies and a number of argumenti ad populi.

The universal definition of impeachment is that it is a formal process where a legislative body like the Philippine House of Representatives charges a public official. Impeachment is the formal process where a legislative body (like the U.S. House of Representatives and the Lower House of the Philippine Congress) charges a public official with serious misconduct or crimes, similar to an indictment, which then leads to a trial by the Senate to determine if the official should be removed from office.

The power of impeachment is a check on power of the president, the vice president, the members of the Supreme Court, the constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman. Impeachment is not an automatic removal. When the House impeaches an official it is merely an indictment. It is not a conviction. That simply means that an official can be impeached by the House and yet absolved by the Senate.

In the same manner the pre-trial chamber of the ICC may decide to confirm the charges against former president Duterte and yet the trial chamber may acquit him. Therefore, our most professional prognosis is that vice president is most likely to be impeached by the House (even without the vote of the NUP), but the Senate will most likely acquit her. The prosecution does not have 16 votes to convict.

On March 22, 2011, former ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was impeached by the House but he resigned and thus deprived the Senate the opportunity and the burden to try her. On December 12, 2011, then Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached by the House and the Senate tried and convicted him. Only three senators out of 24 voted to acquit him: Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Joker Arroyo and, hold your breath, Bongbong Marcos.

The following senators voted to convict Chief Justice Corona: Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Tito Sotto, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Francis Pangilinan, Manny Villar, Sergio Osmena III, Panfilo Lacson, Teofisto Guino III, Antonio Trillanes IV, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Francis Escudero, Edgardo Angara, Lito Lapid, Gregorio Honasan, Loren Legarda, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

On October 11, 2017, the House impeached then Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista but he allegedly went missing and reportedly remains a fugitive of justice until now. And then on February 5, 2025, the House (controlled by Speaker Martin Romualdez and the Palace) impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. However, the Supreme Court declared that impeachment unconstitutional for lack of due process. The motion for reconsideration filed by the House was denied by the High Court with finality.

The House is doing it all over again, and grudgingly following the stricter protocols outline by the Supreme Court, which some of its members called a judicial overreach. But the law is what the Supreme Court says it is. The Supreme Court is the final interpreter and arbiter of all laws. That is in accordance with our republican and democratic state's system of checks and balances.

Filipinos who love to talk about impeachment ad nauseam and who are inclined to post inanities and incongruities ad absurdum on social media should stop exposing their ignorance and start studying the Constitution and the law. They should stop throwing garbage to the already-polluted cyber space.