Sotto: Senate to adopt rules of impeachment Tuesday or Wednesday

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday said they are expecting to adopt the rules on the impeachment trial of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez Tuesday night or Wednesday. Sotto told reporters that senators are expecting to receive the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives within the day. However, even if the Senate receives the impeachment articles and adopts the rules for the trial Tuesday or Wednesday, senators will only be able to convene as a court on May 9. "In case we adopt the rules tonight or tomorrow, it will still be May 9 kasi may 15 days na publication pa ng rules," Sotto said. Even if the Senate will hold marathon hearings for the impeachment case, Sotto said the trial will not get in the way of the senators' legislative functions. "The impeachment court cannot set aside the priorities of the Senate so the schedule is really important," he said. He said the Senate will take up its legislative works in the mornings (9 a.m. to 12 noon) of Mondays, Tuesday, and Thursdays; while impeachment hearings will be held starting in the afternoon of the same days (2 p.m. onwards). During Wednesdays, the morning is reserved for sessions of the Commission on Appointments, while the impeachment trial will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. or onwards. The House of Representatives approved early Tuesday the articles of impeachment to bring Gutierrez to trial at the Senate for her alleged betrayal of public trust. In a 212-46 vote with four abstentions, the lawmakers impeached Gutierrez due to the low conviction rates during her term and her supposed inaction on five high-profile cases. Sotto said while senator-judges and concerned parties are gagged from speaking with the media throughout the course of the impeachment trial, the Senate will assure that the media could freely cover the proceedings. "There's a particular rule that we are going to adopt which resembles more or less what we had before during the [Joseph Estrada] impeachment, which was a particular rule allowing the impeachment to be open to the public so when you say open to the public okay sa media iyon," he said. Former President Joseph Estrada faced impeachment proceedings in late 2000, and was ousted a month later in the middle of trial due to a popular revolt similar to the 1986 EDSA People Power. On Tuesday, Sotto also said senators will tackle during afternoon's session the issue about senator-judges or respondents who might use social networking sites to air their opinions about the trial, amid a looming gag order. "During the time of Erap, wala pang Twitter at Facebook. Texting lang. So we will take that up later," he assured. Lobbyists warned Meanwhile, Sotto warned anyone against trying to lobby for or against the impeachment of Gutierrez by approaching him or any of his colleagues while the chamber is on break. "Delikado iyan [That's dangerous]. If I were on anybody's side I will avoid na gumapang sa mga senador (lobbying with senators)," said Sotto, who chairs the Senate committee on rules. "They would be best advised not to talk to the senator-judges," he added. But he doubted if someone would actually be daring to engage in lobbying before the impeachment trial. "Hindi ako bilib sa mga kwento at tsaka mga tsimis ng gapangan... I doubt it kasama lang talaga sa kwentuhan iyan," he said. Sotto said he expected the Senate to adopt the rules of procedure on the impeachment trial within the day or tomorrow (Wednesday). Gutierrez early Tuesday morning was impeached by the House of Representatives for alleged betrayal of public trust in connection with her alleged inaction on several high-profile cases sitting on her desk. Impeachable offenses The approved articles of impeachment states the following impeachable offenses which Gutierrez allegedly committed: (1) under Gutierrez, the Office of the Ombudsman has performed dismally as shown by the office's low conviction rate; (2) the unreasonable failure to take prompt and immediate action on complaints filed against various public officials, including former President and now incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo regarding the National Broadband Network (NBN)-ZTE project; (3) the inexcusable delay of the Ombudsman in conducting and concluding its investigation into the wrongful death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño aboard a Philippine navy vessel; (4) inaction in the matter of the Fertilizer Fund Scam; (5) inaction in the matter of the Mega Pacific deal on automated polls machines; and (6) inaction in the matter of the "Euro Generals" issue. — LBG/KBK, GMA News