Padilla said he, allies may skip Sara Duterte impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Robin Padilla said he and his allied senators may soon decide to skip the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte if the “distortion” of the Constitution continues.

He said there has been no such discussion yet “but it may happen soon.”

Asked if they were serious about their plan not to attend the impeachment proceedings, Padilla noted that there have been many “surprising developments.”

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“Let us not identify whether we belong to the minority or majority bloc because it would not look good, people might say we are engaging in politics while an impeachment trial is ongoing. But there is a bloc that really supports the Constitution,” Padilla said in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday.

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READ: Senate vote threshold ruling questioned anew in SC by Duterte allies

“We believe in upholding the Constitution. We do not want to bend the law. If this continues, there may come a point when we will no longer attend the trial,” he added.

Padilla admitted that he himself have recently been skipping the trial and this has something to do with the pending petition that he and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go had filed. They asked the Supreme Court (SC) to declare null the Senate impeachment court’s ruling on the voting threshold for Vice President Sara Duterte’s conviction.

“I’ve been questioning the threshold, I’m waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court. I believe the Constitution should not be violated. If I attend the trial, it’s as if I am fooling myself. I will wait for the SC decision,” he said.

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The petition for certiorari and prohibition was filed by Padilla, Go, and Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) before the Supreme Court on Sept. 29. They pointed out that 24 remained the total headcount of the Senate sitting as an impeachment trial as no senator has vacated his or her seat due to death, resignation, forfeiture or cancellation.

But Padilla said that even if he was not physically present at the Senate plenary, he has been monitoring the proceedings at his office.

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“If you don’t see me at the plenary, I watch the proceedings on TV at my office. I watch every hearing, I monitor all the things being said there, every witnesses’ testimonies. I can’t miss that,” he said.

“I do not attend the trial on the floor when I don’t need to speak, but if I do have to, that’s the time I go down to the plenary,” he added, saying monitoring at his office allows him to entertain guests, including indigenous people from far-flung areas, and attending to his other works as a senator. /das