LAWMAKERS have signaled that while the impeachment process is a constitutional duty, it will be handled with deliberate pacing to ensure it does not hinder the passage of priority bills.
Senate President Francis Escudero moved the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to June 11 instead of June 2 to allow Congress to act on urgent priority measures before its sine die adjournment.
The presentation of the impeachment articles is a prerequisite to convening the Senate as an impeachment court.
The new schedule sets the formal transmission at 4 p.m. on June 11.
In a letter addressed to House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Thursday, Escudero said the decision was made after a meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) held earlier in the day.
The Council identified 12 priority bills that lawmakers are expected to deliberate and pass within the final six session days of the 19th Congress.
The measures are:
• Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act;
• E-Governance Act;
• Open Access in Data Transmission (Konektadong Pinoy Act);
• Rationalization of the Fiscal Mining Regime;
• Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act;
• Virology Institute of the Philippines;
• Government Optimization Act;
• Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act;
• Fixed Term of Office for Barangay and SK Officials;
• Judicial Fiscal Autonomy;
• Denatured Alcohol Tax; and
• Anti-POGO Act
“With only six session days before the sine die adjournment, it is imperative for the Senate and the House of Representatives to prioritize the passage of these measures, consistent also with the administration’s thrust to align our government with the people’s needs and expectations,” Escudero wrote.
He also pointed to the pending confirmation of more than 200 presidential appointments, including three Cabinet secretaries, four constitutional commission officials, 39 foreign service officers, and 277 Armed Forces of the Philippines officers, by the Commission on Appointments upon the legislature’s resumption on June 2.
A copy of Escudero’s letter was also furnished to Vice President Duterte. (PNA)
