Philippine Senate pushes for trial of Vice President Sara's impeachment resolution draft only received 4 senator signatures!

So far, only 4 senators in the Senate have signed the resolution draft to continue the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

One of the four signatories, Senator Risa Hontiveros, denied that they are calling for ignoring the Supreme Court's decision declaring the impeachment charges against the vice president unconstitutional, which would trigger a constitutional crisis.

Hontiveros said they hope to collect more signatures before the August 6 schedule, for discussion by the senators in an open plenary session, rather than discussing how to handle the impeachment complaint after the high court made its ruling.

"As some observers have claimed, no one wants a constitutional crisis or political deadlock here. That is why these days, these weeks, we are trying to figure out how the Senate should act properly. We are carefully studying this and will fully present it before the plenary session on August 6."

Hontiveros stated that Senator Panlilio is responsible for drafting and distributing the resolution, and the other signatories are Senator Vincent Sotto III, the leader of the Senate minority, and Senator Bam Aquino.

The resolution draft cited the position of former Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna, stating that the court's ruling on Duterte's impeachment was legally correct but very unfair. The ruling accused the House of Representatives of violating a one-year rule, and the court redefined the rule, making the impeachment requirements stricter.

The resolution draft urges the court to apply the "principle of effective facts," which states that the actions taken and what was done depend on the previous and prevailing definitions at the time.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839197903213568/

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