Senators prolong deliberations on rules of impeachment

The anticipated adoption of rules of impeachment that would be used for Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was pushed back further to give way to several senators who sought clarification and aired their reservations on the rules. Senator Vicente Sotto III, who chairs the Senate committee on rules, earlier told reporters that the rules could be adopted as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday at the latest. But some senators raised reservations during Tuesday's session that started around 4 p.m., prolonging deliberation on the matter. (See: Sotto: Senate to adopt rules of impeachment Tuesday or Wednesday) Sotto also confirmed on Tuesday night that the six articles of impeachment against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, which were approved by the Lower House on Tuesday morning, have not yet been transmitted to the upper chamber. "We were informed that it will be transmitted tomorrow [Wednesday]," Sotto said during deliberations for the adoption of the Rules of Procedures on Impeachment Trials, or Senate Resolution No. 432.
As of posting time, senators continued to deliberate on the Rules, with specific concerns raised about the provision barring senator-judges, prosecutors, and witnesses from giving comments on the merits of the case. Miriam wants tight gag rule Pushing her concerns for an impartial process, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Tuesday supported suggestions to bar senators, who will sit as judges on the Ombudsman’s impeachment trial, from talking about the case to anyone apart from among themselves. In a two-page proposal for additions to the impeachment rules, Santiago said senators should not discuss merits of the case to the public because they are mandated to "provide service to everyone without unfair discrimination, regardless of party affiliation or preference." Santiago cited Section 4 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees as the basis of her proposal for the gag order. In her proposal, Santiago said, "No senator-judge shall communicate with any person who is not a senator-judge, in the course of and concerning the proceedings of the impeachment trial, until after final judgment." The lawmaker went further and suggested that these means of communication should also cover mobile phones and the Internet. Santiago stressed that while the media should be allowed to make "factual reports" on the progress and status of the case, "no reports or comments on the merits of the trial [shall be made]." Likewise, no senator-judge should give interviews to members of the media, "particularly on the merits of the case, until after final judgment," Santiago suggested. Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III earlier said they will tackle the issue of senators who might use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to give their opinions on the impeachment case.

Cayetano wants full media coverage For his part, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano expressed his objection to certain provisions of the Rules, which prohibit senator-judges or any party to the case from making disclosures or comments to the media. "To be able to give the almost 100 million Filipinos enough information to make an informed judgment and to be able to lobby with us, there should be full media coverage," said Cayetano. "They should be allowed to give interviews, do their research and make their intelligent questions," he added. Cayetano’s approach appears to stand in direct conflict with that of Santiago, and even that of Sotto, who earlier in the day 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. (See: Sotto: Senate to adopt rules of impeachment Tuesday or Wednesday) Enrile: No gag order On the other hand, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile clarified that he has not issued any gag order preventing his fellow senator-judges, prosecutors, and witnesses from giving media interviews at all times. Enrile qualified the prohibition by saying senator-judges are not allowed to give interview only while impeachment proceedings are ongoing. "Ang nangyari kasi sa amin noong panahon ni Erap ay naba-bother kami. Maski na nandidito kami conducting the hearing as judges ay tinatawagan kami ng mga reporters," he said. (What happened to us during Joseph Estrada’s impeachment trial was that we were always getting distracted. Even while we were here conducting the hearing as judges, reporters were calling us.) However, as soon as trial goes into a break or is suspended for the day, senators are once more free to talk to members of the media, so long as they do not discuss merits of the case, the Senate President clarified. "You cannot prevent the senators from saying what they wants to talk about," he said. Asked if he would sanction a colleague who would insist on giving comments while proceedings are going on, Enrile said: "I will not penalize them, but I will ask them to cooperate." ‘We will ensure smooth trial’ Enrile also reminded people planning to copy the controversial walk-out of prosecutors during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada in 2001 to think twice before repeating the protest action. "I will not allow any walk-out. I hope they will understand. I will have to conduct an orderly proceeding," said Enrile, adding that he will "not hesitate to cite people in contempt." During the January 16, 2001 walk-out, disappointed members of the prosecution panel handling the case against Estrada walked out after senator-judges voted against opening a second envelope said to contain incriminating evidence against Estrada. "Hindi na puwede iyong nangyari dati kay Erap [What happened during Erap’s impeachment will not be allowed]. I will be the one presiding. I will order the sergeant-at-arms to arrest the people," he added. Arroyo: ‘What is betrayal of public trust’? For his part, Sen. Joker Arroyo expressed concern that the Lower House chose to impeach Gutierrez for betrayal of public trust, which the lawmaker said was not based on any previous jurisprudence. "There were no precedents. We cannot say. This is a provision peculiar only to the Philippines," said Arroyo, saying the concept of public trust was "vague," although betrayal of public trust is one of six possible causes for impeachment as provided by the 1987 Constitution. "We in the Senate will have to think about what is public trust [because] there is no authority... Nobody can just say, 'Here are the criteria for betrayal of public trust.' There is none," he added. Given that there is no authority on which betrayal of public trust could be based, Arroyo said he and his fellow senators would be left to rely only on their conscience. "It is only through our individual conscience that we can resolve this since there are no precedents and just our conscience," he said. Arroyo also offered a procedure to speed up the impeachment trial, which he said could be "tiring" for everyone, especially for senator-judges who "have to be sitting erect all the time." He suggested that senator-judges should first tackle all six articles of impeachment, and just reserve voting for each article at the end of deliberations. "The voting will not happen until all of the articles have been deliberated upon... I just want to make it clear to the one making these [rules] to make it clear also for us and to the judges," Arroyo said. Under the proposal, prosecutors only need one conviction in any of the six articles of impeachment to oust Gutierrez, similar to what was observed during Estrada's impeachment trial. —JV, GMA News