Immune from suit after impeachment?

After impeachment, whether convicted or absolved, can the vice president be sued in courts, before the ombudsman and Sandiganbayan? The answer is yes. She does not enjoy the immunity bestowed only on the president. If so, can the vice president invoke the doctrine against double jeopardy?

Assuming, without conceding, that the vice president will be acquitted by the Senate with her allies including Senators Bong Go, Bato de la Rosa (assuming they will not be somewhere in The Netherlands at the time of voting), Robinhood Padilla, Imee Marcos, Chiz Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Mark Villar, Camille Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva. With 12 for exoneration, the prosecution does not have 16 votes to convict. Still, the vice president can be brought to court. In fact, cases are already filed and more are about to be filed.

May the vice president interpose the defense of double jeopardy? Let us examine this principle based on Philippine and US jurisprudence.

Under Section 21 of the Bill of Rights, Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it is provided: "No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act." On this basis, can the vice president refuse to be put in another jeopardy after the impeachment?

Research tells us that one of the core protections for criminal defendants is the double jeopardy rule provided by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The short version of the rule is that you cannot be prosecuted more than once for the same crime. It prevents prosecution for the same crime after an acquittal or a conviction, and it also prevents imposing multiple punishments for the same crime. However, double jeopardy becomes much more complex in some circumstances. It is not as simple as one would peremptorily assume.

We are made to understand that the obvious application of double jeopardy is when law enforcement finds new evidence of the defendant’s guilt after the judge or the jury has already acquitted them. The prosecution cannot charge them again, even if the evidence shows that they probably are guilty. Another situation in which double jeopardy is clear is when a judge tries to sentence a defendant for a crime for which they have already served their sentence.

The 16 lawyers of VP Sara are expected to know that the protection of the doctrine of double jeopardy applies only to criminal cases, so a defendant who was acquitted or convicted of a crime may be sued in a civil lawsuit based on the same conduct. They also can face administrative proceedings arising from the same incident, such as the suspension or revocation of their driver’s license. And since impeachment is not a criminal proceeding, it does not bar criminal prosecution before the Sandiganbayan.

Also, the battery of legal luminaries, constituting the defense team of the vice president should know fully well that double jeopardy does not apply to prosecutions for lesser offenses, if the defendant already has defeated the charge of the more serious offense. However, if a jury convicts a defendant of multiple charges based on the same conduct, the judge can impose a sentence only for the greater crime. Convictions for assault and aggravated assault, for example, will result in a sentence only for aggravated assault.

Based on the foregoing dissertation, I believe that the vice president will be kept busy the rest of 2026 in the impeachment court, and before the Sandiganbayan for the whole of 2027. She will be diverted from the campaign trail. These cases are also diversionary tactics. The BBM team is going to bring charges against the DDS. Cases from the right, cases from the left, front and rear, from above and from below.

While BBM is in power, the DDS will be on the defensive. This is Sun Tzu's “The Art of War”. Keep your enemies busy fighting other opponents, and then attack, attack, and attack. And the vice president will need at least a billion for the legal fees for 16 lawyers. The court battles shall be long and hard.

In the meanwhile, the people suffer in poverty and social injustice.