UST joins growing calls for the commencement of Sara Duterte trial
Vice President Sara Duterte. File photo
MANILA, Philippines — The list of universities urging the Senate to proceed with the continues to grow, with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) among the latest to join the call.
“Respect the Constitution. Fulfill the duty. Forthwith proceed. Veritas,” UST said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon.
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Earlier, the deans of five Ateneo schools and colleges of law—Ateneo de Manila University, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, and Ateneo de Naga University—made the same call.
According to the deans, the Constitution states that the trial by the Senate “shall forthwith proceed without conditions or qualifications, and without equivocation or obstruction,” after at least one-third of the lower chamber’s members filed and transmitted the articles of impeachment.
They also pointed out that the Senate is “a continuing body as an impeachment court, which is a quasi-judicial function,” which means it is not considered a legislative function that could expire at the end of each Congress.
Apart from UST and Ateneo schools and colleges of law, the De La Salle University (DLSU) also made the same call to the senators — both of the 19th and the incoming 20th Congress — last week.
Over 100 faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Law also urged the Senate not to abandon its constitutional duty to proceed with Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Their call comes after Duterte’s supporters moved to dismiss the impeachment case against her.
The vice president was impeached by the House of Representatives in a historic move, which garnered over 200 signatures from lawmakers last February 5.
On the same day, the articles of impeachment were transmitted from the House of Representatives to the Senate, but the upper chamber adjourned its session without tackling the document./mr
