'Pure speculation,' says Escudero on talks he may preside over Duterte trial

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero branded reports that he would preside over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as “purely speculation.”

“No such decision has been made yet. That will be decided by the impeachment court once proceedings begin on July 6,” Escudero said in his “Chiz Wiz” podcast aired on Wednesday.

“Whatever is being said now is purely speculation,” he added.

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It was Sen. Panfilo Lacson who said last week that Escudero was the majority’s choice to preside over the trial, which is scheduled to start on July  6.

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Lacson noted, however, that this consensus, which was reached among members of the majority bloc during their meeting on June 17, “may still change.”

The Senate amended the impeachment rules on June 3 to allow another senator, aside from the Senate president, to preside over all other impeachment cases, except when the president of the Philippines is on trial.

Escudero surmised his name was mentioned as a possible presiding officer since there are only five lawyers in the Senate, including him.

The four others are Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who belongs to the majority bloc, and three from the opposition group — Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, his sister Sen. Pia Cayetano, and Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.

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“We are only five lawyers out of 24 senators, so perhaps that is why some believe that one of the five would be suitable to preside, especially in a situation where the Senate president is not a lawyer, although there is no requirement that the Senate president must be a lawyer,” Escudero said.

“So perhaps that is where the speculation, proposals, and suggestions are coming from — that I or another lawyer should preside,” he added.

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But what is more important, he said, is to ensure that the proceedings would be fair and impartial — not just in reality but even in their appearance.

“Actually, there’s a phrase about that in law. You must not only be impartial, you must also appear to be impartial,” Escudero said.

He also explained that being a senator-judge does not protect them from any investigation.

“The conduct of an impeachment trial does not grant immunity to senator-judges,” he said.

In the case of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, he could not sit as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial while he is suspended by the Sandiganbayan, Escudero said.

Estrada has been detained over plunder and graft cases filed against him in connection with the flood control scandal.

Escudero is also being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman over his alleged involvement in the controversy.

“A senator-judge sits as a senator-judge by virtue of being a senator. If the senator is temporarily suspended, then during the period of suspension, he or she cannot serve as a senator-judge,” Escudero explained.

“He can participate once the suspension is lifted,” he said. “However, permission must still be sought from the court, and it will be up to the court whether to allow participation, either online or in person in the trial.” /apl /atm

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(Note: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.)