Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday said the Senate must comply with the Supreme Court’s decision halting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing the need to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Escudero acknowledged that the issue might be raised during a Senate caucus later in the day. However, he emphasized that the final stance will come from the Senate as a whole, not from him alone.
“As a lawyer, I believe we must follow the Supreme Court’s ruling to prevent a constitutional crisis,” Escudero said.
He warned that failure to follow the High Court’s directive could damage the Philippines’ democratic image internationally. “Other countries might begin to see us as a banana republic doing whatever we want,” he added.
While Escudero said the Senate has yet to make a collective decision, he sees no valid reason to defy the Court’s position.
The Supreme Court earlier ruled that the Senate has no jurisdiction to try the impeachment case against Duterte, declaring the proceedings void from the start. The ruling effectively stopped the process even before it began.
