A POLITICAL group on Wednesday called on the Philippine Senate to immediately hold the impeachment trial against Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In a position paper, Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri J. Colmenares asked President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to call for a special session compelling senators to convene as an impeachment court without their permission. The paper was also backed by the impeachment counsel for activists who filed the second ouster charge against the embattled vice-president.
The Senate could also begin soliciting Ms. Duterte’s response to the allegations contained in the impeachment complaint submitted to the Senate in early February, he added, which was signed by more than one-third of congressmen.
“We call for the immediate convening of the impeachment court, and for the speedy disposition of the impeachment case,” Mr. Colmenares said in his eight-page position paper.
The Office of the Vice-President did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Civil society groups, activists and clergymen separately filed three impeachment complaints against Ms. Duterte in December. More than 200 congressmen filed and endorsed a fourth complaint that was directly sent to the Senate before Congress went on a four-month break early this month. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
