The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers has announced recently that it would file several cases against PRRD when his term ends in 2022. NUPL Chairman Neri Colmenares said that among the cases they would file include crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings and other violations of human rights. During NUPL’s 5th Congress held two weeks ago, Colmenares said “the justice system in the Philippines is unable to provide legal remedies to victims of EJK and other human-rights violations because Duterte claims he is immune from suit. That is why we will pursue more cases against him in the UN and other international mechanisms for now.”
During the said event, NUPL also said the group will be building up the cases they plan to file against the President and the state security forces in 2022 to bring justice to the alleged victims of EJK under the present regime. They stressed that no man is above the law and that those who committed crimes against the people should be held accountable. Earlier, the NUPL filed a plea with the Court of Appeals for a temporary protection order from alleged harassment from state agents. Joined by lawyers from overseas, the NUPL released a statement: “We, lawyers and members of the legal profession, express grave concern over the heightening attacks against our colleagues in the Philippines. In particular, we are disturbed by the labeling, accusations and threats against the NUPL and its members. The red tagging of NUPL is contrary to basic rules of evidence, due process and fair play.” The CA, however, denied to grant the relief by ruling that there was no basis to extend the plea.
While the President is still in office, any aggrieved party or the proper authority is not without recourse against a President who abuses his power or misuses his authority while in office. One does not have to wait until the President leaves office when he is no longer clothed with immunity from suit. The American Founding Fathers, by discarding a parliamentary system of government in favor of a presidential form, devised a clever way to remove a President from office by way of impeachment. Under the US Constitution, a President may be impeached for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Likewise, by junking the parliamentary system, the framers of the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Philippine Constitution have adopted the impeachment process to unseat a President, practically under the same grounds but deleted “misdemeanors” and added “culpable violation of the Constitution and graft and corruption.”
Moreover, “betrayal of public trust” was included in the 1987 version. The obvious purpose is to remove a President who is unfit for the office. It’s not meant to be a criminal action but the President who is convicted and removed from office shall be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and punishment under the law. Judgment in impeachment shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold any government position. Several impeachment cases involving a US President had been filed. Two US Presidents had been impeached by the US HoR—Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton—but both were acquitted by the Senate. Johnson, the 17th US President, was impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors” for removing the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, from his office when his tenure was protected by law. Nixon resigned from office before he was impeached. The case against President Richard Nixon started as a Watergate office burglary while that of President Bill Clinton began with an affair with a White House intern. President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry at present originated from a phone call to a President of a third world country.
Impeachment is a numbers game. Under the Philippine Constitution, the HoR shall have the exclusive power to initiate an impeachment case by way of a verified complaint to be filed by any member of the HoR or by any citizen. A vote of one-third of all the members of the HoR is required to approve the Articles of Impeachment, to be followed by a trial at the Senate, which shall act as the impeachment court presided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. To convict, 2/3 votes of the Senate are needed. I doubt if the HoR can even muster 1/3 votes to approve an article of impeachment. You can count the genuine opposition members in the House with the fingers and toes of your hands and feet. In such a scenario, just like the song, impeachment ends before it begins. Hence, the NUPL may be prudent to wait until the end of PRRD’s term in 2022.