By: Atty. Donna Mae Pearl C. Dumaliang and Atty. Rhenelle Mae O. Operario

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, however, expressed a contrary view, stating that the remand is not unconstitutional but rather “unique and unprecedented but allowable.” He explained that the remand serves as a mechanism to facilitate the transition of the impeachment case from the 19th to the 20th Congress. What is essential, according to Justice Azcuna, is that the Senate has already acquired jurisdiction over the impeachment case when it convened as an impeachment court. The Senate did not terminate or dismissed the case, what is being done was to ensure the seamless continuation of proceedings despite the change in congressional terms, an unprecedented situation in which an impeachment case was caught between the two Congresses. In his view, the Senate’s Act of remanding the case to the House permits the 20th Congress to proceed with trying the case on the same Articles of Impeachment, accomplishing a cross-over between 19th Congress and 20th Congress. ⁵

In recent developments, the House of Representatives has already complied with the first condition set by the Senate by certifying that there was no violation of the one-year bar rule under Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution. However, the second requirement, which pertains to the affirmation that the 20th Congress is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment proceedings, cannot yet be fulfilled. This is because the members of the new Congress are scheduled to formally convene only on July 28, during the opening of its First Regular Session. ⁶

Given the unusual nature of the situation and the differing views expressed by legal experts, this issue continues to raise important questions that deserve careful thought and constitutional reflection. Whether the Senate’s decision to remand the Articles of Impeachment will eventually be accepted as a practical response to an unprecedented circumstance, or criticized as a step beyond its constitutional role, remains to be seen. In the midst of this uncertainty, this discussion aims to shed light on the legal issues at hand and to help foster a deeper and more informed public understanding of the impeachment process.