THE impeachment process is not entirely a numbers game in Congress because the legal issues arising from it may be brought before the Supreme Court, an official said Friday.
High court spokesman Theodore Te said that while an impeachment was a political process in which party alliances played a crucial role, it could also involve contentious legal issues that only the high court could settle.
He made the statement following moves in the House to impeach President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo.
Te said there were issues in impeachment proceedings that may be subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court.
“There have been instances where the Supreme Court has been asked to come in, but on very, very limited issues,” Te said in a television interview.
He cited the impeachment cases against retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona, and former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez that all reached the high court.
In the Davide case, the high court decided on the issue involving the constitutional rule requiring only one impeachment complaint against an official per year and tackled its jurisdiction over the case.
In its 2003 ruling, the high court disallowed the filing of a second impeachment complaint against Davide after the first one was dismissed by the House.
In the 2010 Gutierrez case, the high court was asked to review the power of the House to conduct hearings on an impeachment case. The high court then upheld the House procedures and the former Ombudsman resigned from her post in April 2011 even before her trial in the Senate could start.
In both cases, the high court temporarily stopped the House from proceeding with the impeachment process pending a resolution of the petitions.
Corona also filed a petition with the high court when he faced impeachment in February 2012, but the high court did not grant him relief until the Senate ordered his ouster after his impeachment trial.
But Te said in all cases, the high court did not touch on the grounds of the impeachment cases.
“There has been no instance when the court actually reviewed the basis for impeachment,” Te said.
Te said impeachment was a “political process to remove a public official unfit for a position.”
“It is not a criminal trial, it is not a trial per se as we understand it in the courts. It is not a judicial process. It is basically a political disciplinary process,” he said.