Constitution framer highlights 'forthwith' in impeachment clause amid calls for the Senate to proceed immediately with Sara Duterte trial

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, pointed out that the word "forthwith" in the supreme law's impeachment clause precisely meant the words "immediately" and "without unreasonable delay"—amid growing calls for the Senate to proceed immediately with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

"In the national language official version, 'agad-agad,'" Azcuna said in a Facebook post.

The lawyer noted that he was the one who drafted Article XI, the Accountability of Public Officers, pointing out the "thematic" Section 1, which states that, "Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives."

Azcuna reiterated that once the House of Representatives adopts by at least one-third votes a resolution of impeachment, which would constitute the Articles of Impeachment, “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

He noted that Senate President Chiz Escudero "will have done well" if he gets to start the process before the 19th Congress lapses on June 30, when the term of representatives and outgoing senators also expires. "That will trigger the Senate’s jurisdiction over the case. The Senate in the 20th Congress can continue the process of proceeding with the trial," he said.

If the 19th Congress doesn't proceed to trial after receiving the Articles of Impeachment—which leads to its dismissal—Azcuna pointed out that it would be a "grave violation" of the Constitution.

"It can be reversed by the Supreme Court or by the Senate of the 20th Congress on a proper motion for reconsideration," he said.

Per Azcuna, it's crucial for someone against the dismissal of the Articles of Impeachment to vote with the majority, "because only someone who voted with the majority can ask for reconsideration." That someone, he said, must still be a senator in the 20th Congress.

He pointed out that the Articles of Impeachment will not lapse into the Senate of the 19th Congress, but will be carried over to the 20th Congress, because the trial of impeachment cases isn't a function of legislative power but a constituent power.

The lawyer said it's "lodged on the Senate specifically" on Article XI instead of Article VI, or the legislative department.

"So it does not fall under the rule that unfinished business lapses with the outgoing Congress because the Constitution says the opposite," he explained, "that the trial must 'proceed' meaning it must continue until it is finished. It cannot proceed if it is made to lapse. Since it must proceed, it follows that it does not lapse."

In ending his post, Azcuna said he respectfully prays that the senators "heed the clear mandate of the Constitution and the will of our people and proceed now to perform their sacred duty to try the Articles of Impeachment."

"This too will afford the Respondent due process and the opportunity to present her side to the seven charges contained therein," he added. "And it will settle our people in the hope that democratic governance is not impossible among us."

This comes after Christian Monsod, another framer of the 1987 Constitution, said in an April interview with One News' Storycon that the Senate President's reasoning for the need for more time to prepare for the impeachment trial is "shallow." 

“There were several opinions that the Senate is on recess, therefore, that cannot be interrupted," Monsod said. "What a shallow reasoning. We are talking here about the impeachment of the Vice President, for corruption, and so on." 

Escudero, in a Kapihan sa Senado forum in the same month, reacted to Monsod's remark and put the blame on the word choice of the framers of the Constitution. 

“Kung ang intensyon niyo po ay iyan talaga, e'di sana sinulat niyo po iyan sa Constitution. Pati 'yung paggamit ng salitang ‘forthwith,’ sana ginamit niyo na 'immediately,'" he said. "Hindi niyo naman po nagawa at ginawa iyon, hindi po para sa amin na bigyang intepretasyon ang isang bagay ayon lamang sa inyong pananaw ngayon."