Former Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon has urged President Bongbong Marcos to call a special session of Congress to allow the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and try Vice President Sara Duterte.
Calling Congress to a special session, according to Drilon, “is the sole prerogative of the President which cannot be questioned, not even by the Supreme Court.”
The Senate adjourned on Wednesday, Feb. 5, without tackling the Articles of Impeachment transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Congress will resume its regular session on June 2, after the May 12 midterm elections.
Drilon said a decision must be made before the elections to avoid “legal complications” that may arise if the trial would be carried over to the next Congress.
“The impeachment trial should be finished before the term of this Congress expires to provide stability to our political system and … that is why there is a need for a special session.”
Drilon served as a senator-judge during the impeachment trials of then president Joseph Estrada in 2000 and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte was signed by 215 House members, including all district and party-list representatives from the province and city of Iloilo.IMT
