Get to know the experts tapped as amici curiae in Sara Duterte's impeachment trial
The Senate Impeachment Court has named three legal experts as amici curiae to assist the court in resolving the legal questions surrounding Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment proceedings.
In a release, the court said that it has secured the participation of former chief justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno, as well as former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna.
Retired chief justice Hilario Davide Jr., who was the presiding officer during former president Erap Estrada's impeachment trial, has also been tapped to participate. However, he will only submit a legal memorandum instead of appearing physically.
They are set to give insights on Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero's previous ruling that at least 16 senators, or two-thirds of all 24 Senate members, are needed to convict Duterte. Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo made a motion to revisit this as four members of the impeachment court have so far been unable to participate in the proceedings.
These include Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, who are detained over separate plunder cases; Bato dela Rosa, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court; and Loren Legarda, who is abroad for medical treatment.
The amici curiae, or "friends of the court," are set to appear on Sept. 16 to present their expert advisories on the Senate floor. Here's what you should know about them:
Artemio Panganiban
Panganiban served as the 21st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 2005 to 2007. Before becoming chief justice, he served as a Supreme Court associate justice beginning in 1995.
He earned a degree of Associate in Arts summa cum laude from Far Eastern University in 1956, followed by a Bachelor of Laws degree cum laude in 1960. He placed sixth in the 1960 Bar Examinations with a rating of 89.55%.
He began his legal career as an associate lawyer and apprentice to former Senate president Jovito Salonga before establishing his own law firm, PABLAW, in 1963. He headed the firm for more than three decades, until his appointment to the Supreme Court.
Panganiban also played a notable role during the 2001 political crisis that led to the ouster of Estrada and the installation of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as president.
Following his retirement from the Supreme Court, he has since remained active in legal education and public discussions on the rule of law. He founded the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity in 2011, an organization that promotes legal education, scholarship, and the relationship between liberty and economic prosperity.
Reynato Puno
Puno served as the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 2006 until his mandatory retirement in 2010. He was first appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1993.
He earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines, where he also served as editor of The Philippine Collegian.
He pursued further legal studies in the US, earning a Master of Comparative Laws from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Laws from the University of California, Berkeley. He also completed all academic requirements for a Doctor of Judicial Science at the University of Illinois.
He began his legal career in private practice before joining the Office of the Solicitor General in 1971, where he served for nine years.
In 1980, he was appointed to the Court of Appeals and later served as deputy minister of justice before returning to the Court of Appeals following the assumption of former president Corazon Aquino in 1986.
Puno was appointed to the Supreme Court by ex-president Fidel V. Ramos in 1993. He served as an associate justice for 13 years and eventually became the Court's senior associate justice. In 2006, he was appointed chief justice, succeeding Panganiban.
Adolf Azcuna
Azcuna was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that helped draft the 1987 Constitution. He later served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2009.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 1959 before earning his law degree from the same institution in 1962. He placed fourth in the 1962 Bar Examinations. He later enrolled at the University of Salzburg in Austria to pursue his postgraduate studies in International Law.
Azcuna began his government career in 1963 as assistant private secretary to then Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Jose Bengzon. He later taught International Law at Ateneo de Manila University for nearly two decades, from 1967 to 1986.
His career in government expanded following the 1986 People Power Revolution, where he served under Aquino as presidential legal counsel, press secretary, and presidential spokesperson. He was also a member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention and later the 1986 Constitutional Commission.
In 2002, Arroyo appointed Azcuna to the Supreme Court, where he served as an associate justice until his retirement in 2009.
Hilario Davide Jr.
Davide served as the 20th chief justice of the Philippines from November 1998 to December 2005 and as the 17th permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York from February 2007 to April 2010.
Before his law career, Davide studied at UP Diliman to earn an Associate in Arts, Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence, and Bachelor of Laws.
Afterward, he worked as the private secretary to the vice governor and governor of Cebu and taught at Southwestern University, Cebu City College of Law. In 1971, he was the delegate of the 4th District of Cebu to the 1971 Constitutional Convention.
Following martial law, Aquino appointed Davide as Commission on Elections chairman in 1988, until his stint was cut short when the former president appointed him to investigate a coup attempt as chairman of the Presidential Fact-Finding Commission.
Davide also received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2002.
Duterte is facing a total of four impeachment articles alleging the misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and procurement irregularities, and grave threats and high crimes.